Visions of Doom
by sevlandexplorer
Summary: Severus gets injured in the shrieking shack (his fifth year). While unconscious he witnesses some scenes from his future and realizes becoming a death eater wouldn't bring him power and glory but pain and servitude. He spends the rest of his schooling trying to shape a different future for himself. Alternative universe, Visions, Lily bashing, Fix-it, Slow build, Warnings are inside
1. Chapter 1

Declaration: The world of Harry Potter and its characters belong to J. K. Rowling.

Notes: Hello, everyone!

I have originally posted this story at archiveofourown under the same name. The story is completed there. I'm rereading the chapters and after editing them I'll post them here.

The story isn't really graphic in terms of violence or sexual relations, but I believe some of the context is not suitable for the younger audience, so I have rated the story "M".

Warnings: homosexuality, a bit of smut, male pregnancy in later chapters.

...

Chapter 1: The Visions

Severus froze just inside the shabby room. His heart pounded in his chest and his eyes glued themselves to the beast growling on top of the stairs. At the back of his mind, he was aware of someone running along the tunnel towards him. As the giant wolf leaped down Severus' breath hitched. His hand reflexively went for his wand, although somehow he knew it was already too late. At the same moment he heard another animalistic sound from behind and a few sharp bone like objects connected with his body near his shoulder, pushing him out of the way. The boney edges pierced his neck and shoulder and he was thrown to the corner of the room. Severus screamed in agony and heard the wolf's raged shriek before his body slammed into a battered table, breaking through the aged wood. Soon his vision blurred and the world went black.

...

A tall figure stood before him. The snake like features were pale and dull and bright red eyes glittered dangerously in the dim light. The thin lips barely moved as he spoke:  
"You have been very valuable to me. Very valuable."

He felt himself answering: "My Lord knows I seek only to serve him ..." ... [Severus heard no more. He was bursting with excitement ... The dark Lord... He was talking with Lord Voldemort and the man was praising him! Was this a vision from the future? Was he destined to achieve high ranks within Lord Voldemort's service? A sense of pride and hope filled his heart. He could picture himself as Voldemort's right hand man, finally receiving the respect and recognition he deserved...]

"You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen."

[The dark Lord's words cut through Severus' musings. Something wasn't right. Swallowing his rising panic, he forced himself to focus and pay attention to the conversation]

"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot truly be mine."

[Severus' stomach dropped. He just couldn't believe it. Voldemort believed him loyal and valuable and yet he wanted him dead.]

He rose his wand, knowing it was in vain and he watched in horror as Voldemort swiped the air with his wand. Nothing happened at first and for a split second he thought he was spared. But then something dropped on his head. There was a giant snake inside.

No sooner than he heard a hissing sound from Voldemort, the snake's sharp fangs bit into his flesh several times. He screamed in pain and betrayal.  
Falling to the floor Severus heard Voldemort's cold voice: "I regret it."

...

He was lying on the hard floor. There were hands putting pressure on his throat. His neck and shoulders were damp and every inch of his body ached. Each breath was agony. Severus could hear growling and scratching noises coming from somewhere nearby ... The werewolf ... , his mind supplied. He struggled to get up but he was too weak and someone was pinning him to the floor. With difficulty he opened his eyes and looked up. The hazel eyes of his captor were familiar but for some reason he couldn't place them. He blinked several times with considerable effort to clear his mind but too soon he went back to unconsciousness.

...

His left arm was on fire. He was standing in front of the defense classroom and his eyes were on the students who were attempting to unarm each other. He resisted the urge to grab his left forearm. Severus started moving between the students. With every minute that passed the burning sensation in his arm intensified. He could feel the dark Lord's increasing anger and rage through the mark.

[He was obviously a teacher. Why would Voldemort call for him in the middle of the day? There was no way he could get away with so many people around. He was sure the pain would kill him.]

The pain was now spreading up his arm to his shoulder. All he wanted to do was scream ...

...

Severus moaned weakly. He recognized the smell of the flesh mending potion. Someone was rubbing the potion onto his injured arm. It burned like hell. He moaned again and tried to pull away from the insisting hands. A female voice shushed him and then continued the process. After what felt like hours the hands stopped and bandaged the wound. He felt a cool hand gently touching his cheek and fell sleep.

...

He was crossing Hogwarts' courtyard in long strides careful not to be seen by the people gathered near the maze. His arm ached as if it has been burning for hours. He exited the wards and stopped at the edge of the forbidden forest.

Severus looked down at his hands, they were shaking a little. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a brief second, then touched the mark on his forearm and disappeared.

The next second he was standing at a graveyard. Before he could have a good look around, he was bound and fell to the muddy ground. Once more he was looking into the red eyes of Lord Voldemort. The man pointed his wand at his heart and hissed "Crucio".

The air left Severus's lungs as unbelievable pain rushed through his chest and spread along his limbs. He screamed and screamed as his body thrashed in mud. He could feel his bones shifting against each other and his flesh tearing. He just wanted it to stop ...

...

"Make it stop" he mumbled. The women shushed him again. The wet cloth on his face felt nice, and soothed his flaming skin. He was shaking all over.

A hand came to the back of his head urging him to lift his head. This time it was the scent of anti-fever potion that filled his nose. He swallowed the cool liquid greedily, unmindful of the foul taste. It didn't take long for him to go back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Vow

Summary: Dumbledore shows up at the infirmary for a little chat.

Severus woke up with a jolt. He could hear madam Pomfrey talking to someone in a hushed tone and he could tell she was irritated. He opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. He felt disoriented and it took him a while to realize he was in the hospital wing. The first thing he noticed was the intense pain in his neck. He swallowed. His throat was dry. He tried to reach for the glass of water that he knew would be sitting on the bedside table, the result was pain shooting from his right arm to his shoulder and back. Severus moaned in pain, perhaps a little too loudly. Rushed footsteps approached his bed. He could vaguely remember something slamming into him and landing on a wooden surface with such force it broke. His eyes traveled to his bandaged left forearm. He recalled a broken piece of the wood tearing all the way through it. His breath caught in his throat when he realized he couldn't move his fingers.

"Don't worry dear. Soon, it will be good as new."

Severus's head shot up and he stared at the mediwitch as she filled a spoon with a blue potion and held it to his lips. Pain potion, a strong one he realized. Severus swallowed with difficulty.

"Here, drink some of this."

Madam Pomfrey held out a glass of water and helped him drink some of it, for which Severus was grateful.

"How are you feeling my boy?"

Severus look up and was greeted with the sight of a grim faced Albus Dumbledore. Severus frowned. He didn't like dealing with the old man at the best of times and the fact that the man's false sweetness and forced smile were absent made him apprehensive. Severus didn't answer the headmaster's question and just kept staring at him. Dombledore sighed and turned to madam Pomfrey.

"Please, give us a second, Poppy." he said. The command in the headmaster's tone was unmistakable.

The mediwitch opened her mouth as if to protest but seemingly changed her mind. "Five minutes. He needs his rest." she conceded.

"Of course, Poppy." murmured Dumbledore. He watched the woman leave and then after waving his hand and casting a privacy spell, turned his attention back to Severus.

Severus dropped his eyes and started picking at the edge of the blanket with his good hand. He knew what the old man was trying to do. He had felt his attempts at intruding on his thoughts on more than one occasion. Any moment now the accusations would begin and the headmaster would somehow put the blame on him.

"James has already told me what happened. I can't begin to understand what you were thinking, going into that tunnel. In the middle of the night no less." There was disappointment and annoyance in the headmaster's voice.

Severus finally looked up. "Black tried to kill me." he spat bitterly.

Dumbledore sighed again. His aged face hardening some more. "Mr. Black made an error and failed to consider the consequences. That does not excuse your actions." he said.

Severus felt bile raising in his throat. He focused on the bed curtains, glaring hard.

"The whomping willow was planted for a reason. The tunnel to the shrieking shack was never meant to be discovered by any of the students. We took measures to insure your safety. You, Mr. Snape should know better than to roam the school grounds after hours. If it wasn't for James' compassion and great show of courage, quite a few lives would have gotten ruined. James risked himself to save your life. You owe him a life debt."

Severus felt more sick by the minute. The headmaster's speech about James Potter heroism didn't help his growing resentment. This was not what he had anticipated that night. He remembered feeling triumphant and scared at the same time when he was moving along the blasted tunnel. Determined to show the marauders' true colors to everyone and prove himself. It felt as if years had past since then.

"I am assuming you figured out who the werewolf was." Dumbledore continued after a moment looking at him expectedly from behind his half-moon glasses.

"Lupin" whispered Severus. He could see the giant beast glowering and jumping at him, his yellow eyes glowing with bloodlust and his sharp teeth wet with saliva. Severus shot his eyes closed tightly, willing the image to disappear.

"Mr. Lupin is here on my invitation and he has proven himself a model student. If this information gets out, his chances of receiving a proper education would be slim. For that reason I would require a vow from you"

Severus opened his eyes at that. He had been half listening to the headmaster's banter about Lupin. "a vow?" he asked, truly confused.

"Yes, you will vow on your magic that you wouldn't tell a soul of Remus' condition."

Severus didn't response for a moment. He had always been intimidated by the powerful old wizard. But now, something had changed in him. He had experienced his own death and faced torture. Somehow the prospect of Dumbledore's possible punishment didn't scare him anymore.

"And if I don't?" he asked defiantly. Dumbledore didn't respond. He apparently hadn't expected this outcome.

"Are you going to expel me? It would only attract people's attention. Not the best strategy when you're trying to sweep something under the rug, is it?" Severus was shaking now, But did his best to keep his composure.

The aged wizard was truly angry now. His magic lashing from under the surface. It was nothing compared to Voldemort's burning rage, though. Severus rubbed at his bandaged arm absentmindedly.

"You will watch your tone, boy! You ARE taking this vow, I'll make sure of it. I would not let you jeopardize Mr. Lupin's life"

Severus gritted his teeth, his anger matched the headmaster's. "Did you make potter and Black take a vow, too?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"James and Sirius would never betray their friend." Dumbledore answered somewhat calmer, confidence and pride lacing his words.

"Black already has!"

Dumbledore seemed taken aback and fell silent.

"Do what you want. I'm not taking any kind of vow or oath." Severus went on. He was swaying where he sat. He continued, trying and failing to keep his voice steady. "I am not planning to tell anyone about Lupin and you just have to take my word for it."

Madam Pomfrey was once again at his side.

"That is quite enough. You need to lie down." said the mediwitch sternly, all the while glaring at Dumbledore.

"Very well, Mr. Snape. But make no mistake, I will keep you to that promise." With that Dumbledore left.

Severus sat quietly and let madam Pomfrey fuss over him. He was drained and exhausted.

"How long have I been in the hospital?" Severus ask tiredly.

"Two days dear, tomorrow would be Tuesday. You need to stay here for a few more days. You still have a touch of fever, your left shoulder was broken and you had a few wounds on your right shoulder and your neck, these would take a couple of more days to heal. The worst one though, is your left arm. Like I said, the damage is not permanent but it would take some time to get better." Madam Pomfrey explained kindly. "Now, why don't you try to sleep for a while?" she added.

Severus nodded and closed his eyes. Soon he drifted to an uneasy sleep.

...

Albus Dumbledore sat heavily at his desk. The conversation with the Slytherin had left him drained and uneasy. It had not gone at all as expected. He had counted on the vow, figuring it would defuse the issue and solve all the problems. He was not used to being contradicted and not getting his way. He could not remember any of the students or his employees ever talking back to him. That boy just did not know how to control his tongue. Albus had gotten very close to unleashing his magic. He did not lose control like that very often.

Then there was the boy's comment about Sirius Black betraying his friend's trust. Albus has been counting on this specific group of friends. Sirius in particular had really impressed him with the way he had separated himself from his dark family and formed his own family of sorts. It showed great strength and courage on his part. It proved how important people's choices were.

Albus had always encouraged the marauders and showed his support in any way he could. He quite enjoyed the boys' wit and mischief. It reminded him of his own schooling. James and Sirius' talents in quidditch and transfiguration was impressive. James had just proven himself to be selfless and capable of heroic actions, two nights ago. Those were the main traits that Albus sought. Remus was studios and hardworking. It was obvious he was grateful for the opportunity provided for him. Peter also had some formidable trades. He was loyal and supportive of his friends and never left their side.

The comment about Sirius troubled him, however. He knew the boy was devoted to his friends, that much was obvious. But his actions the other night had been immature and irresponsible. Albus has never found it necessary to be firm handed in regards to any of these boys, but perhaps some form of discipline was in order. After all, he couldn't rely on Sirius in the upcoming war if the boy did not learn to think through his actions.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Other Side

Summary: Severus reflects on his life at Hogwarts and revisits his plans for the future. The Marauders are also experiencing some conflict after the shrieking shack incident.

Severus lay in bed. His mind was racing. It was Wednesday afternoon, just after lunch and he could hear the students moving around, getting to class. For once, he was glad to be stuck in bed and couldn't bring himself to care about the classes he was missing. He wasn't ready to face any of the people outside.

Severus had really wanted to be a part of the dark Lord's ranks. It was considered an honor, a way to gain power and influence. As a child Severus had always dreamed of going to Hogwarts and entering the wizarding world. But things has not gone as planned. He was ignored at best and wildly disliked at worst. No matter how much he studied and how high his grades were, the teachers always overlooked him and his talents. Potter and his gang had been making him the laughing stock at school since first year. He got no respect from his peers. Even Lily hardly gave him the time of the day anymore. She was in a different house and was very popular. This year she was also a perfect. With so many friends and now the perfect duties, she didn't have much time to hang out with him. At least that's what she told him. Sometimes Severus got the feeling that she was ashamed to be associated with him. That thought made him feel small and lonely. It used to be different when they were kids. They spent most of their day together just sitting and talking. Severus had really enjoyed those meetings. He told her everything he knew about magic. He would pester his mother for information and stay awake late into the night to read his mother's old books, newspapers, even store catalogs, anything related to the magical world really. He had craved the attention Lily gave him and glowed with pride anytime he could impress her.

Now that he thought it over he could see that their friendship was one of the reasons Lily had become popular in school so quickly. She knew everything there was to know about the magical world before entering it. Her knowledge of the magical society had enabled her to get along with purebloods and be considered a part of their group. She was also a role model for muggle borns and half-bloods. They looked up to her and sought her out, specially the younger students. Severus had not been as lucky. His housemates had not taken too kindly to his tainted blood, lack of wealth or muggle upbringing. People from the other houses down right ignored him, except for the so called marauders of course. The first person to actually acknowledge him had been Lucius Malfoy. Lucius had been a perfect and was aware of Severus' high marks. He had approached Severus a couple of months after the start of first year. Lucius had encouraged him in his studies and praised his talent and hard work, something no one else had ever done. He had also introduced him to some of the older students. Severus had soon become part of their group.

His own year mates in Slytherin had stopped ignoring him after that, but they had been quite bitter about it. Lucius had said they were jealous, because they weren't as popular with the older hung out with him but always looked the other way whenever he got in trouble. It also annoyed them that Severus failed to acknowledge their superiority due to their blood status and refused to do their school work for them in any way.

Lucius had finished school two years ago. Most of his friends were gone as well. Severus was still considered a force to be reckoned with in house Slytherin, but he didn't have as much support as before.

Severus sighed to himself. He didn't know what to do. Becoming a Death Eater had been his ticket to moving up and finally be accepted. He had so badly wanted to be part of something, to belong. He still did, but there was no way he would take the mark now. He just could not dismiss those dreams. It was crazy to think that he had had visions from his future. He was a strong believer in science and logic, all the same his dreams had been awfully vivid and detailed. More importantly, he had experienced intense pain and one thing he knew for sure was that ordinary dreams did not contain actual pain. The more he thought about it, the more certain he became. The dreams were real. He could not explain them but he understood the significance.

He vowed to himself that he would change the future. This mad enslavement that came with the dark mark was not worth any privilege it might bring. He just had to find his own path.

He sighed again. Lucius and the others would not be happy with this revelation. It did feel somewhat wrong and awfully close to betrayal. But it was not like he could sway them and change their mind.

He was a Slytherin after all. Slytherins stuck together against all others, yet no one understood the concept of self-preservation better than a slytherin.

He needed to be smart about this, he couldn't attract attention to himself and give away his plans ...

"Mr. Lupin, what can I do for you?"

Madam Pomfrey's voice drew Severus' attention.

"I..Well.. I'm still sore. And... I was wandering if you could...maybe... um... Give me some flesh mending potion?"

"Flesh mending potion? That's not for soreness, dear. I have already given you enough healing potion and muscle relaxer. You haven't had injuries this past year. Is it happening again? You told me you weren't injured." said madam Pomfrey. She sounded concerned.

"No... I... No, I was not injured. It's just... With someone else coming to the shack... I guess it was harder this time"

"I see" answered madam Pomfrey, her voice thoughtful.

['What was Lupin playing at?' Thought Severus. Lupin was not one to stutter quite like that. He was hiding something, Severus realized. 'What did he want with a flesh mending, though? Perhaps it was for some prank?']

"Is that Snive... Um, I mean Snape in there?" asked Lupin. Severus could say by the footsteps that the boy was moving towards his bed.

"Yes, but he is not allowed to have visitors." said the mediwitch with urgency, sounding crossed.

"But he has been here for three days, how bad could it be?" came Lupin's reply.

"He is still quite ill. And he's going to stay here until I am satisfied with the state of his health." she was definitely pissed now that her professional opinion had been questioned.

"I was told he didn't get bitten" Lupin sounded confused and worried now.

"He wasn't bitten, dear. But he was severely injured. Now, let me get some healing potion for you"

Severus heard her moving away, a second later he noticed Lupin approaching his bed again. Severus was not ready for this, he closed his eyes and feigned sleep. He felt the curtains moving. Lupin seemed to be inspecting him. Severus' eyes opened wide as Lupin reached for his left arm. He tried to pull his arm out of the other boy's grab but Lupin had a firm hold. Lupin then started to unbandage the wound.

"What the hell are you doing?" rasped Severus in shock, but received no respond. Cursing his weakened state he called for the mediwitch: "Madam Pomfrey... Madam Pomfrey..."

"Sweet Merlin... Mr. Lupin! Stop that!" snapped Pomfrey, rushing over to his bedside.

Lupin finally stepped away, Seeming reluctant.

Madam Pomfrey gently took hold of Severus' arm and scanned the area expertly. It seemed Lupin had managed to open up the wound in his haste. Blood was soaking the sheets. With a wave of her wand Pomfrey sealed the wound and then turned to the other boy who was watching sheepishly, although a trace of defiance could be seen in his posture.

"I don't know what go to you young man, but bothering my patient like this, specially one that is already in bad shape is not something I would tolerate. I have never given out detention or taken house points, but I'll…"

"If he wasn't bitten, how did he get that? Why is he so pale and… and shaking?" Lupin cut her off.

Severus scowled. He didn't care for Lupin's description one bit and he certainly did not appreciate being discussed as if he weren't in the room.

The mediwitch sighed. "I don't know exactly what happened, Mr. Lupin. He had various injuries when he got here and had a fever, that's why he's pale and shaky. The wound on his arm was caused by a piece of wood that had cut him like a knife."

"oh" was the only response.

"Now take your potion and get out of here before I give you that detention. And be mindful not to pull a stunt like this in my infirmary again."

After Lupin left, madam Pomfrey started to methodically clean the wound and change the bandage.

"Stop pouting Severus. I was just trying to give him some peace of mind." said Pomfrey, noticing his dark mood.

"I'm not pouting! And you shouldn't have said anything. I'm pretty sure information about patients are confidential."

"The poor boy was worried that he had hurt you, dear"

Severus snorted. "That's not what he was worried about. He was hurting me just now, and you let him get away with it." he said accusingly. He was truly upset. The mediwitch was the only adult in school he had come to rely on and she had let him down.

"At least now you know he won't be bothering you with this anymore. He looked pretty determined to find out. Don't you think so, dear?"

That was true, but Severus was not going to admit it. He didn't give an answer and Pomfrey didn't pressure him.

...

Remus was sitting on his bed, with his defense against the dark arts book open on his lap. Today had been a roller coaster ride.

After the full moon, James had assured him that Snape had not been harmed. He had said Snivellus had only gotten a glimpse of Moony at the end of the tunnel before James had pulled him away and gotten in there to help Moony calm down. Apparently, Snivy had peed his pants and fainted at the site of him. It had become James' favorite impression. Although the thought of Moony scaring someone this much was somewhat disturbing, Remus had to admit it was really funny. Dumbledore' promise that the word wouldn't get out about the incident, had turned the whole thing into a distant memory.

However, when the boy did not show up for classes, Remus had gotten worried. After all, Snape was not one to skip class. James and the others thought he was probably still in shock. That had not eased Remus' nerves. He couldn't help but think that perhaps Moony had bit the boy and his friends were just trying to spare his feelings.

This afternoon he had been trying to get some potion for James. The bite mark was really bothering him and he was refusing to go to the hospital. He had panicked when he realized Snivellus was actually sick. He sighed to himself, it was a relief to know for sure that nothing had happened that night.

He was not about to confront James or tell Sirius and Peter that he had lied. He was sure James had just been trying to protect him. The thought made him feel warm and brought a bright smile to his lips and the day's tension finally left his body.

Sirius stepped into the room. The headmaster had summoned him after dinner. He looked pissed.

"What did you tell Dumbledore, Moony?" he asked.

Remus frowned. "I haven't talked to Dumbledore since the night after the full moon." he replied.

"Then why is he suddenly so crossed with me? You must have said something to someone"

"I didn't, Pads. The only one I have talked to is Pomfrey."

"What's going on?" asked James.

Sirius glared at James for a few seconds. "He's saying I'm a crappy friend. That I have to be more responsible …"

"That's not too bad, Siri. You know Dumbledore, he's all talk. It will blow over soon …"

"Not this time" Sirius cut him off. He seemed really angry. It made Remus nervous, although it seemed the anger was directed at James. "He's giving me detention. I will be spending every free time I've got doing Mcgonagall's biding till the end of term."

"What about the OWLs? You need to study." said Remus.

"Forget about studying, we have a chance to win the quidditch cup this year. You're not getting out of practice, you hear me?"

"I've got DETENTION, James!" bellowed Sirius. "It's not like this is MY fault, is it?"

James took a step back and swallowed. Then turn to Remus. "What exactly did you tell Pomfrey, Moony?"

Every one turned to him. Remus glanced at Peter. It didn't look like he was going to enter the conversation.

"I … I just wanted to get some potion for you, James." he hesitated for a second, then continued: "I asked if she was sure Snape had not gotten bitten, you know how nervous I have been, she told me that he was going to be fine."

"That's it? You just talk about Snape?" asked Sirius. Remus nodded.

"Wait a minute. You asked for a potion? Did she find out about me?" asked James.

"She didn't. I told her the potion was for me. You know, that the transformation had been tough." Remus explained and started looking in his bag for the vial. He had been too preoccupied to give it to James sooner.

"You Sure, Remy?"

"Yeah, don't worry Prongs. Here, it's a healing potion." said Remus, handing him the green vial.

"Is it going to work?" asked Sirius. His anger had apparently vanished, like it usually did.

"I asked for a flesh mending potion. That's what I usually got when I used to hurt myself. Pomfrey gave me this instead. The healing potion is for bruises and cuts that aren't this deep but it would help."

"Why don't you just go to Pomfrey yourself?" mused Peter, finally speaking up.

"How you got to be so god damn stupid, I'd never know, wormy" snapped James, making Peter blushed. "Don't you understand? We are unregistered animagi, that's illegal. I can't go to her with a werewolf's bite mark. Someone might find out."

"If we register, it wouldn't be illegal."

"Really, Wormtail? For Merlin' sake! We have been letting Moony out to hunt the whole year. We can't risk people figuring that out. Remus needs us."

After glaring down at Peter for some time and making him squirm, James took a swallow of the potion and took the bandages out of his nightstand. Remus put his book aside and went over to help change the bandage. Hopefully, he would have time to study for the exam latter.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Best Friends

Summary: Lily visits Severus in the hospital. Sirius serves his first detention.

Severus was feeling much better on Thursday. He was still sore but his fever had finally broke and his neck and shoulder were mostly healed. Despite his health improving, Severus still did not feel quite like himself.

He heard an unmistakable voice talking to madam Pomfrey. A smile appeared on his thin lips. It felt like ages since he had last seen Lily.

Finally, he saw his friend's red hair passing through the curtains. Severus' smile widened.

"Hey Sev, how are you feeling?" said Lily with a smile of her own. "I would have come sooner, but I have been super busy. You know how it is, with the perfect duties and everything else." she continued.

Severus nodded in answer and watched as she moved the chair by the bed closer and sat down. She then pulled her defense text book out of her bag and started to turn the pages to the latest chapter.

"What are you doing, Lily?" asked Severus with a frown.

"It's Thursday, Severus. We should study for defense." She answered matter of faculty.

"I don't feel like studying."

"But you love defense. It would keep you busy. I'm sure staying in bed all day had been boring"

Severus' frown deepened. "Lily, I really don't want to study right now. Can't we just talk for a while?"

"We don't have time to talk, we need to get ready for the test tomorrow"

"My test is next Tuesday. I'll get to it when I'm feeling better. I don't even want to think about school work."

"What about ME?!" Spat Lily, her cheeks were blushed and her green eyes flashed with anger.

"What do you mean? You always say defense is one of our easiest subjects. Why are you so worried? It's just the midterm." Said Severus. He was truly puzzled by her behavior. Lily was really good at defense, at least that was what she had been telling him. She said that she was always one of the first people in class to get hang of the spells. Severus was the best in defense in their year, like in most subjects, But Lily always got decent grades.

"You know what? Forget it. I don't have time for this." she was almost yelling now. Before Severus could react to her outburst she had packed her bag and was moving to the door. He watched her leave with a heavy heart.

Lately, it felt like all they did was fighting. Perhaps he should have just studied with her. He had never lost a chance to spend time with Lily before. They mostly met in the library. They studied potions and defense against the dark arts together. These two were Severus' best subjects, along with arithmancy, but Lily wasn't taking that class. She had divination instead, like most of her friends.

Severus sighed and buried his face in his pillow. It was hard to focus on things like homework and exams right now. How could Lily not notice how out of sorts he was? They were supposed to be best friends after all. It looked like she had come here just to study, not to see him.

'No, Lily isn't like that. She's a good friend.' He told himself. 'It's just stress. The OWLs are in a few months.'

Severus tried his best to stay positive, but he could not help the disappointment and loneliness that was filling his heart.

...

Sirius watched Lily Evans enter the common room. She looked irritated. That wasn't a big surprise, the girl got all riled up at the drop of a hat. She was one of the most annoying people Sirius had ever met and that was saying something considering his family's madness. He kept it to himself though. James wouldn't like it if he badmouthed 'the love of his life'. Sirius snorted mentally. The whole thing was absurd. James had only started going after her to piss off Snivellus. Good old Snivy got red in the face with anger every time James flirted with her. Lily acted all high and mighty, but anyone with eyes could see she always flirted back. She would seek James out as much as he did her. She enjoyed the attention and lapped it up and not only James'. With his friend's pursue of her and making an ass of himself at every given opportunity, others had also started to notice her. Sure, the girl was pretty enough but her personality left much to be desired. She was self-righteous, snobbish and manipulative. Sirius snorted to himself again, perhaps they were perfect for each other.

He was none too happy with James at the moment. He had spent that evening in detention, writing over and over how he needed to be more responsible. Now, he was struggling to finish studying for the exam while James was chatting and laughing with Frank Longbottom as if he didn't have a care in the world. Sure, James had talked Dumbledore into letting him off the hook Tuesdays and on weekends so that he can make quidittch practice and have more time to study, but that didn't make up for how he had thrown his best friend under the bus. It had been James' idea after all to give Snivellus a scare and get him off of their backs. Sirius had been all for it at the time, not realizing that being the one to dare Snape to get into the shack and letting James play the hero and take the boy out, would have such consequences.

Perhaps Dumbledore was right, he didn't think things through. He certainly hadn't anticipated things getting out of hand like that. None of them had, not even Peter with his twisted dark thoughts. Sirius glanced at James, perhaps he was being unfair. Fending off Moony had not been easy. At least, James had been quick to transform into his animagus form before reaching the shack and pushed Snape out of the way in time. He could have gotten infected or worse if he was in human form. Sirius had gone after him when Moony's growling had become too much to ignore. He shuddered as he remembered all the blood. Not just James', Snape had been bleeding pretty badly. He had looked all pale and lifeless. It had really been a close thing.

Sirius got back to his book, more apprehensive.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Priorities

Summary: Severus tries to catch up with his studies.

Severus was sitting in his favorite chair in the Slytherin common room. He was completing his astronomy assignment. Madam Pomfrey had released him on Friday morning. She had declared that she didn't want to keep him in the infirmary for too long, giving him a knowing look. He would have to go there for daily checkups though, making sure the treatment on his arm was working. The wound on his left arm was healed but he still couldn't use it properly.

It was nice to be back in the dungeons. He tried not to think about his encounter with Lily too much, he had so many other things to worry about and he couldn't afford to sulk about wallowing in depressing thoughts. He looked up and watched his year mates playing exploding snap for a moment. They didn't study on Saturdays as a rule. Severus generally enjoyed readying more than socializing, so the rule did not apply to him. He had also fallen behind. After missing almost one week of class, the work had piled up. The professors were giving out more homework this close to OWLs.

Severus had decided he needed to work even harder than before. Distancing himself from Lucius and the dark Lord's followers meant he wouldn't have any support after school. He didn't have money or family ties to fall back on either. All he had was his talents and intellect and he had to make the most of it.

Despite his new found determination, Severus couldn't focus fully on his assignment. His mind kept drifting to the same issue: 'The dark mark'. It was fascinating to him. He had heard of it before. It was supposed to be a symbol of sorts, a badge of honor. But it was obvious that there was much more to it. The magic in the mark was unique and seemed awfully complicated to him. He couldn't totally comprehend it and this scared him.

There was a splashing sound. Rosier had knocked his ink pot over and was now holding up his notebook. It was soaked. He threw it to the bin in the corner of the room from where he sat, not worrying about the mess he was making. His friends cheered the Slytherin chaser as he hit the spot. Severus also perked up, for a different reason entirely, and got back to his parchment more focused now.

Severus waited until all the students left for bed, he had enough homework to occupy himself with. When he was certain that no one would be coming back down, he approached the bin and retrieved the discorded notebook. He then put it carefully on the coffee table and took out his wand. After performing a cleaning charm, he vanished the ink and started clearing the absorbed liquid from each page. He had invented a spell specifically for this purpose. It came in handy very often. He had first thought of it when Black had ruined his charms paper back in second year, but he mostly used it for recycling his housemate's used parchments. Nobody knew about this of course and Severus had every intention of keeping it that way. He couldn't afford to buy much parchment and he always went for the cheapest kind. He mostly used his aged textbooks for writing notes and he had gotten used to writing in cramped small letters.

He supposed he was lucky to be surrounded by so many rich purebloods. They were careless about throwing away their still serviceable material and their parchments were of good quality witch made recycling them worthwhile.

It took sometime but Severus got rid of all the ink. The color of some pages had changed but all in all he was happy with the end result. Now, some modification was in order to keep his secret safe. He change the color of the cover from shiny green to a dull dark blue and changed the pattern on it. He then presided to put some privacy spells and anti-theft charms on as well. He had learned that lesson the hard way when Pettigrew had read his side note on Levicorpus charm from his advanced potions text in class. He had been really proud of his creation but now it was tainted.

Severus closed his eyes, the thought made his blood boil and he didn't need that right now. He pushed the anger aside with difficulty and took a deep breath.

He will be using this notebook to organize his thoughts about the dark mark. He would definitely need to do some research in the library. He had to make sure not to cut into his study time though.

With that settled Severus hurried to bed, feeling a weight coming off of his shoulders.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Library

Summary: Severus makes progress in his research. He also starts noticing things about Lily and realizes their friendship isn't perfect.

Severus pushed his notebook closer and started to organize his notes, while munching on the sandwich he had make at breakfast. He had gone early to the great hall that morning and had come to the library afterwards. Having known he'd be skipping lunch, he had come prepared. He was hiding his sandwich behind the notebook. It wouldn't do to get on Mrs. March's bad side.

The dark mark was more than a magical brand. It formed a connection, that was the only way to describe it. The only similar concept that Severus could find in the library books was 'bonds'. Bonds connected people magically. There were bonds that would bring people closer, like the marriage bond or the adoption bond. Others represented obligations. They included all forms of oaths, vows and debts. These bonds were one sided. They would attach themselves to the indebted person. Dishonoring them would cause punishment, dishonoring vows for example would damage your magic. If you vowed on your magic, the way Dumbledore had tried to force him into doing, in punishment you would lose your magic entirely. The thought alone was dreadful. An unbreakable vow would drain your magic so quickly it caused immediate death. These bonds also wouldn't expire with the second person's death, if that happen you had to repay it to the next of kin.

Severus had looked up life debts as well. It was said failing to repay it would turned your magic against you. The books didn't mention specifics, probably because no one had been stupid enough to try and see the end results.

The thought of owing a life debt to Potter of all people was more than disturbing. The bastard could collect at any moment and he could ask for almost anything. Nothing could be done about it though.

To Severus it seemed as if the dark mark was the combination of both bonds. Like familial bonds it would make you aware of the other person, Severus could distinctly remember feeling Voldemort's rage through the mark, and like the second type of bonding, the mark allowed punishment, although in this case it was physical. The mark was also one sided in the sense that gave one person the upper hand and let that person effect the other at any moment. Could people be controlled through the mark? Severus mused.

There was another aspect to the mark that made it go beyond bonds. It carried along messages with creating a burning sensation. And it guided the bonded to the other's location. Did that mean it could be used as a means to track someone?

Severus started scribing a to do list. He needed to learn more about magical tracking and mind control. That done, he put the notebook away reluctantly and collected the books on his table. He then headed for the charms section. He had studying to do.

...

It was almost three in the afternoon when Lily showed up, Sunday afternoon was one of their regular study dates. She gave him a bright smile and sat down next to him, as if nothing had happened between them. Severus forced a smile as he watched her take out her potions textbook. He realized no matter what their fight was about, she would always conveniently make up with him when it was time to study.

"What are you working on, Sev?" she asked.

Severus look at her for a second and decided to test something. "It's charms. I missed the class last week and now I'm totally lost. I could really use some help."

"It's not as hard as you're making it sound, Severus. We've been working on silencing charms all semester. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

There it was. She never offered to help him with charms. Everyone knew she was brilliant at the subject. Severus on the other hand was quick to offer to help her study, always eager to impress her. Truth be told charms wasn't that hard for Severus, not like transfiguration, but it didn't come naturally to him and he had to work hard to get it right.

"You really need to start working on your potions essay though, it's due tomorrow." She continued.

"Slughorn says I can hand that out later. I want to focus on charms and transfiguration today."

"What about the class tomorrow? You can't make the potion if you don't read ahead."

"I'm excused from potions this week. I still can't work with my left arm all that well."

Lily frowned and inspected his arm. "Are you going to be alright?" she said. It seemed she was genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Madam Pomfrey says it would get much better next week. But right now I'm not allowed to overwork it." He assured her.

"It won't hurt to studying ahead, you know. You don't want to fall behind."

Severus sighed. "I will. But right now I'm more worried about charms." he said firmly.

Lily opened her mouth as if to argue further, but then closed it and heaved a sigh of her own. "Alright" she murmured.

They both fell silent and focused on their studies. Severus could see that his friend was struggling with the essay. It was strange, seeing Lily frustrated like that. She was always so perfect at everything she did and her marks in potions came close to his own. She was also Slughorn's favorite, he praised her talents at every class.

Severus look over at her parchment several times and every time he came close to correcting her work, but held back. Eventually, she wrapped up her essay and moved on to another subject.

...

"My friends will be here soon, Severus." said Lily, looking at him expectedly. It was 5:20. Severus always moved when Lily's friends were about to come. It was obvious they didn't like him and always gave him dirty looks. Severus had no patience for them.

"Alright." answered Severus, looking back down to the transfiguration book he was reading. He wasn't going to leave the table this time. He had been here since morning and he still had a good two hour before dinner.

"Aren't you going to move?" snapped Lily. Her voice laced with irritation.

"No, it's fine. I wouldn't mind sharing a table with them."

"I see what you're doing Severus. I know you've been sick, but this is no way to treat your friend."

Severus narrowed his eyes at that. He clutched the book harder and just shrugged.

Lily's expression darkened. She stood up suddenly, scraping her chair on the stone floor and earning a glare from the librarian. She then collected her books and marched to another table.

It took a lot of effort form Severus to keep quiet through the whole thing and also to compose himself afterwards. He couldn't afford to get distracted, he still had a ton of work.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Opportunity

Summary: James' wound isn't going away. The marauders go to the potion expert.

James was leaning heavily on his bed's headboard and clutching his side. He had been sitting like that since he had come back from quidditch practice. His friends had told him to cancel but James would have none of it, insisting as the captain he had no choice but to show up.

"Why don't you take some pain potion, James?" asked Sirius.

"No, I can't keep any more of that stuff down. It's really foul."

"It is." Said Remus knowingly. He held up the book he had been reading. "I've found the recipe for the flesh mending potion, but it's really complicated and a small mistake would make it fatal. There's just no way we can brew it ourselves"

"I still don't understand why the apothecaries wouldn't sell it without a healer's note. It's not like it's anything dark. It's for healing wounds." Mused Sirius.

"I don't know, the book doesn't say."

"Alright. So, we can't buy it. We couldn't take it from the infirmary with all the wards and we can't brew it ourselves…. Maybe, we can get Slughorn to brew it." Said James.

"He wouldn't. Slughorn's as lazy as they come. Plus, he asks way too many questions. We have to think of something else." Answered Sirius thoughtfully.

"I bet Snape can brew it." mused Peter.

James snorted. "There's no way that slimy bastard would agree to help us."

"He doesn't have to agree. We will make him do it."

"I don't say this often, but I think you're up to something, Wormy." answered James, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "We'll set up some kind of brewing station in one of the empty classrooms on the third floor and get him there. He likes those old dusty books of his, right? We'll burn a couple of them and hold onto the rest till he's done."

They were all leaning forward in anticipation, grinning at each other. They could use a bit of fun. Sirius though was a little apprehensive. "What if it doesn't work? That git doesn't give in that easily." he asked.

"Then we'll hex him till he budges. Maybe that would get some of the grease off of him." answered Peter. James and Remus laughed.

"Yeah, and I might get to see Snivellus wet his pants this time." said Remus, making James laugh harder.

"Guys, stop! I can't laugh. It hurts." said James, breathless.

"We can't do this." declared Sirius. He could see how easily things could get out of hand.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not worth the trouble." said Sirius and with that, the laughing stopped.

"This is for James, Padfoot. He needs the potion." said Remus. Sounding confused.

"I know that!" snapped Sirius. "It's just …. Look. Someone might find out. If they do, we wouldn't be just losing house points, OK? They'll find out about us being animagi. We can't risk it."

"I sure as hell WILL risk it! Who the hell would listen to that slim ball?!" bellowed James.

"Someone might."

"Alright, then. What is your brilliant idea, Pads? You want me to get on my knees? Lick his greasy shoes?"

Sirius went silent for a moment, deep in thought. "We'll pay him." he said finally.

"Pay him?! Really? That's your genius idea?"

"Come on Prongs, think about it. The git doesn't have two knuts to rub together. He'll jump right on it."

"He's right, James. It might work. And if he gets caught, we wouldn't get the blame. Like you said, no one will believe him over us." Said Remus.

"And if it doesn't work we'll hex him, right?" asked Peter maliciously.

"Sure" smirked James, then his expression turned more serious. "How much do you think I should pay him?"

"Don't worry. I'll pay him anything he wants. My family's money is got to be good for something, right?" answered Sirius, felling relived. He just had to make sure Snivellus would take the money.

...

It was Wednesday. Severus was sitting in the charms classroom. He frowned as he wrote down some notes in his textbook, he was doing his best to focus on the lesson. He had been studying hard throughout the week and had finally managed to catch up with his studies.

They had charms and potions with Gryffindors. This was their second charms class this week. On Monday, Lily had been glaring at him the whole time. If he had to guess, he would say it had something to do with the potions class last period, which he had been excused from. Today, she was downright ignoring him.

He was really cross with her. She always blamed him for their fights, it didn't matter that she was the one staring them. Usually Severus would be the one to apologize and make peace, but he had resolved not to give into the impulse this time.

The thing that was distracting him now was not Lily though, it was the damn marauders. They had been looking his way and whispering to each other since the class had started. They probably thought they were being discreet about it, but they never were. This could lead to nothing good.

As soon as the class ended, Severus bolted for the door and started down the corridor clutching his wand. He then headed for the library. The corridors were crowded since the last class of the day had just ended. He was halfway there when someone tackled him to the ground. He hissed as he was slammed to the hard floor and before he knew it, his wand was snatched from his grasp.

"Black!" spat Severus. He started to struggle against the other boy. Black howled him to his feet effortlessly and dragged him into an empty classroom. Severus struggled the whole way but to no avail. Black pushed him inside the room, his friends at his hill. They closed the door and stood in front of it.

Severus realize he was panting. He took a few steadying breaths and tried to push down his rising panic.

"What do want?" rasped Severus.

"Thought you'd never ask" said Potter mockingly.

Lupin pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket and moved towards him. Severus took a step back, narrowing his eyes and unconsciously clutched his left arm. Lupin stopped in his tracks.

"It's a potion recipe." Black spoke up. "We want you to brew it."

"You think I'll brew you some potion?! Why the hell would I do that?" retorted Severus, not believing what he was hearing.

"We'll pay you." added Black nonchalantly.

Severus snorted. As if he would take money from THEM. For all he knew they were setting him up. He really wanted to tell them off, but something was stopping him. He needed to know what they were planning. Finally his curious nature got the better of him. Severus reached over and snatched the parchment out of Lupin's hands.

They hadn't included the potion's name in the recipe, but he figured what it was before he finished the list of ingredients. 'Flesh mending potion'. Lupin had asked Pomfrey for this. He looked up and scanned their faces critically. Except for Pettigrew, who had a mad glint in his eyes, they all actually looked nervous. The mighty marauders were anxious about something!

He looked the recipe over to buy himself some time. He decided he would try to get as much information out of them as he could.

"Which one of you needs the flesh mending potion?" blurted Severus. He smirked, they looked dumbfounded.

Potter was the first one to recover. "It's none of your god damn business, Snivellus!" he spat. "You'll get your greasy hands on some money, that's all you need to know. Do everyone a favor and buy some ….."

"So, it IS for one of you." said Severus, cutting him off. "Does any of you know why this potion can't be used without a healer's supervision?"

No one answered. Severus held up the recipe and pointed to the ingredients. "You see this? The amount of salamander blood is not mentioned. It changes based on the stage of the wounds."

Lupin snatched the parchment back and looked at were Severus had pointed to, his eyebrows frowned. "Yeah, It doesn't say how much you need."

"Let me see that." said Potter. Lupin passed it over. Black and Pettigrew also leaned forward to look.

After a moment Severus continued: "If you really want me to brew it, you should let me see the wound. If I don't use the right amount of salamander blood, the potion could make it worse." Actually he didn't need to see the wound per say, they could just describe it to him, but he wasn't about to let that last bit slip.

Lupin, Black and Pettigrew were all looking at Potter expectedly. Severus hid his smirk this time, they were too easy to read! There was a hushed discussion and after a while they fell silent. Potter apparently gave in and stepped closer, removing his robes.

Something clicked in Severus's mind. 'Potter! It was Potter!' He couldn't believe his luck.

He watched as the boy pulled up his shirt, reviling an angry looking mark. Severus leaned forward curiously and inspected the … bite mark… from a huge animal. Images of sharp teeth and big yellow eyes started flashing through his eyes. Severus closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. 'There's no way this is a werewolf bite. Potter would be bedridden if he was infected.' The logical part of his mind supplied. Severus opened his eyes, he couldn't lose his focus. This was important, he had a chance to get rid of the life debt.

He studied the wound more closely. It wasn't that deep and not really fatal. He could see it had healed a bit but not nearly enough. He remembered madam Pomfrey giving Lupin a healing potion.

Severus straightened and stepped back. "The wound isn't that deep, but it will definitely get infected if you leave it like that. You should take something for that, too."

"Can you brew something for infection?" asked Lupin, worried.

"I will brew it, but you're going to get all the ingredients for both potions" he answered and took out a quill, ink and a precious piece of parchment and sat down on a desk to write everything down.

"How much do you want for both potions?" asked Black with the carelessness of a rich spoiled brat.

"We'll pay you after you hand over the potions. And don't you get any ideas Snivellus, we're going to check them before giving you a knut. Got that?" added Potter.

Severus gritted his teeth together and kept silent. 'As if they could tell the difference between snake venom and anti-infection.' he snickered to himself.

Finally, Severus stood up and handed over the list. "I don't want money." he announced.

Potter's face turned to an ugly shade of red. "No? What then? If you think you can get us to …."

"You're taking the damn money. understand?" Black cut him off. He was pointing a figure at Severus and looked panicked.

"What I want …" Severus started, his eyes were narrowed and his hands balled into fists at his side. "Is for you, Potter to consider this payment for the life debt from the shrieking shake."

The marauders went silent for a second. "And why would I do that?" smirked Potter. He took out his wand and pointed it at him. Severus' heart sank. He should have known better.

"James, stop!" surprisingly it was Black. "Look, this is perfect. It would guarantee he wouldn't pull any stunt or do a half ass job. He couldn't tell anything to anyone either."

Potter lower his wand, his brows frowned in thought. He looked at his friends. Pettigrew looked disappointed. Lupin hesitated a second, then nodded.

"Fine." said Potter at last.

"You have to say the words, that you consider the potions payment for the debt"

"I consider the fucking potions as payment for when I saved your worthless pathetic life. Happy?" bellowed Potter.

"Get me the ingredients by Saturday." spat Severus. He was shaking with the effort to compose himself. He held out his hand to Black and after receiving his wand, marched down to the dungeons, the library forgotten.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Breaking Ties

Summary: Severus and Lily get into an argument. Severus repays his debt to James Potter.

Notes: Hey, guys!

Just wanted to let you know that for this chapter, I have borrowed a few lines from Lily and Severus' arguments in book 7; the prince's tale.

...

"We need to talk."

Severus looked up from his history of magic assignment. He was doing homework in the library again. As big a bookworm as he was he didn't usually spend Friday nights studying, but he had brewing to do this weekend.

Lily made an impatient noise. Severus sighed and packed his things. He would have to finish this up in the common room later. They moved out of the library and headed to the courtyard.

"What did you want to talk about, Lily?" asked Severus.

Lily gave him an irritated look. "Don't pretend you don't know. You have been ignoring me all week!" she snapped.

Severus pursed his lips. "You haven't talked to me either."

"Why would I? Don't you know what your friend, Mulciber tried to do to Mary MacDonald the other day? It was Dark Magic."

"What does that have to do with me?! I wasn't even there." answered Severus haughtily. He had been defending Lily to his housemates since first year. Anyone knew better than to bother her in anyway. Her friends though were not his problem. It wasn't like they were nice to him anyway.

"How can you hang round with people like him and Avery?! I detest them. Really, Sev? Mulciber! What do you see in him? , he's creepy and evil!"

"What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?" demanded Severus. His color rose as he said it, unable to hold in his resentment.

"What's Potter got to do with anything?" said Lily. "Why are you so obsessed with them?"

"You think I'm obsessed with THEM? They're the ones who make fun of me and gang up on me all the time."

"They don't use Dark Magic, though." She dropped her voice. "And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow, and James Potter saved you from whatever's down there—"

Severus' whole face contorted and he spluttered, "Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to—I won't let you—"

"Let me? Let me?"

"That's right!" Severus shot back, not able to hold it in any longer. Words seemed to be pouring out of him. "You're just like everybody else. You pretend to care about me and stand up for me, but you don't do a thing to stop them. And now that you're a perfect, you never take house points or give out detention or report them to a teacher."

"I can't believe you! How can you say that after all the things I have done for you?! I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends—you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?"

"Don't talk about things you know nothing of, you stupid cow!" bellowed Severus.

"Don't get too excited Snivelous or you'll pee your pants again!"

"GO TO HELL!"

Severus turned and almost ran to the castle. He couldn't get away from her fast enough. His heart was pounding against his chest and his breath was coming in short gasps. He was almost by the stairs when suddenly his body slammed into something and he fell on his ass. He looked up to see Black and Lupin laughing their head off. He stood up and made to move past them, but Black caught his arm and whirled him around.

"WHAT?!" shouted Severus.

"Slow down you slimy moron. We've got the supply you asked for." answered Black, irritated.

Severus glared at him for a good second and then reached for the velvet bag he was holding. Black moved it out of his reach, making Severus glare harder.

"We want the potions first thing Sunday. Got that, Snivelous?"

"Fine." spat Severus in response and reached over for the bag again. This time Black handed it over. Severus shot Lupin a glare for good measures and climbed the stairs to the entrance hall. He then headed to Slughorn's lab. He knew for a fact that the man would be nowhere near there on a Friday night and he happened to know the password.

The flesh mending potion required extensive care and took a while to brew, for which he was thankful. Brewing always calmed him down. Since second year, he had been spending his detentions with Slughorn brewing potions for the infirmary. It helped him focus and regain control. Severus stayed up all night brewing and then cleaning up. For a few blissful hours he forgot about all else.

...

Severus woke up at 8:15 the next morning after three hours of sleep. He made his way to the great hall groggily. Keeping an eye on the Gryffindor table, he ate his breakfast heartily. Working all night had increased his appetite.

"Where were you last night, Snape?" asked Allerton, the sixth year perfect.

Severus swallowed his mouthful of egg. "I was studying in one of the classes near library and lost track of time." he answered.

That drew a laugh from his housemates. It had happened before. He had once missed the entire Halloween feast, getting too caught up in his book.

"Why didn't you come to the common room afterwards?" pressed Allerton.

Severus shrugged: "It was already past curfew so I just stayed there and finished my book." he said.

That brought on more laughs and Severus scowled.

"I'm not reporting you this time, but in the future at least tell someone before you go wandering off." said the perfect sternly.

"All right." agreed Severus.

Having finished his breakfast, Severus pulled out his half written essay and his history of magic book with a sigh. Lily had come in with her snooty friends at some point, but the marauders had yet to show up.

He was almost done with his homework when they finally came, filling the hall with their laughter and mindless chatter. Severus finished up his essay and packed his things. He looked their way for a few minutes and finally caught Lupin's eyes. He made a gesture with his head then stepped out of the great hall, hopping they would follow.

He was about to leave when they finally showed up. Severus gave Potter the velvet bag which he had filled with potion vials with great care and fished in his pocket for a small piece of parchment.

"The flesh mending potion is the green one. It has to be rubbed into the wound till it's completely coated, then you should bandage it and let it sit for a while to absorb. I have written down instructions for both potions." he explained and handed the parchment to Lupin, since he was supposedly their mother.

Severus didn't wait around for whatever idiotic retort they were about to send his way. He turned on his heels and headed back to the dorm to get more sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Restricted Section

Summary: Severus spends the Hogsmeade weekend researching in the library.

After two weeks of research in the library Severus had decided he needed to get to the restricted section. He had found a lot of information on magical tracking, but not nearly enough on mind control. There was some material on possessing and taking over someone's body and controlling people's actions through the imperius curse. One of the book said that 'occlumency' was the best way to keep people out of your mind. Apparently 'occlumency' was a branch of magic that opposed 'legilimency'. Legilimency was the act of penetrating another person's mind and thoughts. Severus could swear it was what Dumbledore did every time he summoned him for one of those 'chats'. Dumbledore was probably careful not to do that to people who could pick up on it, like the pureblood children and teachers.

Determined to learn more, Severus went to the only person who he thought might give him a library pass; Professor Taylor, the defense against the dark arts substitute teacher.

Severus stood at the door to the Professor's office and took a steadying breath, clutching his parchments to his chest. After composing himself Severus knocked and went inside.

"Ah, Severus. How are you faring with your studies?" asked the Professor, his tone was light and welcoming.

"Good, sir. I … I've been doing some research." answered Severus nervously.

The man's face lit up. "Is that so?" said the professor with a smile. At least that was what it looked like. It was hard to tell with all the scares mapping his face. Other students found Professor Taylor's appearance and moody personality disturbing and were scared of him. Severus didn't care about any of those things. Taylor was by far the best teacher they have had in the subject. He had taught them a lot in the short time he had been there and Severus was glad he'd be staying next year.

"I'm researching werewolves and potions that could be used on them and their victims." added Severus. He was actually excited about this project and had done a fair amount of research already.

Professor Taylor held out his hand expectedly. "Let's see it then." he murmured.

Severus handed over the parchments apprehensively. He picked at the edges of his worn robes as he watched Taylor scan the pages. He was anxious to hear the man's opinion on his work.

"This isn't bad. You're really up to something here." said the professor.

"Really?" breathed Severus, a big smile splitting his face. He then remembered his reason for starting the research in the first place. "I want to do more research. Do you think you could give me a pass for the restricted section in the library?" he asked.

Severus held his breath as the Professor looked over at him thoughtfully.

"We're only supposed to give pass for the restricted section to the sixth and seven year students." said Taylor. Severus' face fell and he looked at his shoes, shoulders hunched over.

"But," continued the Professor, making Severus to look up. "I will give you a one day pass under one condition."

Severus frowned. "What's the condition?"

"You're going to turn this research of yours into an actual paper and hand it in for your OWLs."

"A paper? Isn't that what some students do for the NEWTs?"

"Yes. But technically, you can also do that for OWLs. So, do we have a deal?" asked Taylor.

Severus nodded his head, giving his Professor another rare smile.

Taylor handed Severus his research back, then picked up his quill and started scribing a note on a piece of parchment. "Alright, when do you want to use the pass?"

"Next Saturday, sir."

"Saturday?" asked Taylor with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't that your last Hogsmeade visit?"

"It is, that's why it's perfect. The library will be empty." explained Severus.

The man gave him a crooked smile and shook his head, then scribed some more. "Here. Just remember, it's frowned upon to give fifth years a library pass. So keep this to yourself." he said.

"Yes, sir." murmured Severus. He took the note and hurried out before the Professor could change his mind.

...

When Severus got to the library on Saturday, the place was almost empty as expected. He had headed there right after waking up, not even stopping for breakfast. Besides his notebook and quill and ink, Severus had a couple of sandwiches and some fruit under a preservation charm in his bag. His pass was good for one day only and he was planning to make the most of it. Severus had already made a list of the books he needed and immediately started pulling them out of the shelves and pilled them on a table. He then sat down and started to make notes.

As the day progressed Severus went through the books one by one and wrote down any useful information he could find. Except for a few perfectly timed bathroom breaks Severus didn't leave the library until it was close to curfew.

He had searched all the books he had found and had managed to gather more than enough material for his paper on werewolves. He had also found some Interesting spells for tracking and ways to disable them. They were really fascinating.

All the same he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He hadn't found much information on legilimency and occlumency. Some of the books contained a description of the art, but no more than a few sentences. They all pointed out that legilimency and occlumency were obscure branches of magic and that the knowledge was mostly limited to some old texts, owned by pureblood families. There was one book about the basics of occlumency on the library book list, but it was nowhere to be found. Mrs. March, the librarian couldn't find it either.

Severus knew Lucius would help him get more information. The other boy was very generous with his books when it came to Severus, always encouraging his talents and thirst for knowledge. Severus wandered when he could ask him. He had probably missed Lucius in Hogsmeade.

As soon as Severus stepped into the common room, an irritated looking Avery grabbed him by the arm and without a saying a word dragged him to the seventh year boys' dorm room. Mulciber was also there as well as some of the fourth years and a hand full of sixth and seventh year students. Severus sat in a corner. A few minutes later, Rabastan Lestrange started talking, going on about their goals and listing their breakthroughs. Apparently he had had a meeting with his brother and some of his Death Eater allies. Severus listened with a sense of detachment. This had been such a big source of inspiration and hope, but now it all sounded like nothing more than a big joke. He sighed and took a look around the room. There was an air of excitement and comradery.

"It has been decided that the next generation should be more active." Said Lestrange. This picked everyone's interest, including Severus'.

"No one is going to receive the mark before finishing school." This was followed by sounds of protest.

"But," continued Lestrange quieting them effectively. "We will be arranging some meetings for you to get more acquainted with the others and learn more about our goals. You will be receiving owls in the summer with the time and place of the meetings."

Severus released the breath he was holding. He wouldn't be receiving an owl. No one expect for Lily knew his address. It suddenly hit him, he couldn't contact Lucius at all; it would give the Malfoy heir a way to track him down. Severus sighed and leaned his head against the wall. His friendship with Lucius was over. That thought filled him with a sense of loss and emptiness. He had no more friends left.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Going Home

Summary: Everyone knows what the marauders do to Severus after the exam. This is what comes next.

Severus sat with his housemates at the Hogwarts express. He was hunched over near the window looking into space. They glanced over at him every once in a while but otherwise left him alone. Severus hadn't left the dorm the whole week after the exams, too humiliated to face anyone. None of his housemates had said anything to his face, but he could say they were still talking about it and laughing at him. It wasn't every day that someone was stripped naked hanging upside down in the courtyard. At least it had happened after their last exam.

After he had missed dinner and then breakfast the next day, Regulus had started bringing him his meals. He never said anything or stayed around, he just put the food on his bedside table and left. They weren't really friends. Regulus had tried to talk to him when he had first came to school, but Severus had ignored him. The boy looked too much like his brother for comfort.

Severus sighed. He had not been expecting the attack from the marauders. Potter and his friends had laid off of him for a while, with Potter being injured and Black having detention most of the time. Severus had been really happy that day. His exams had all gone great, even transfiguration. Just before the exam, Professor Taylor had told him that his paper on werewolves had not only been accepted, but it would also get published. Severus had been over the moon, he was finally getting some recognition and his hard work was paying off. He had felt his hopes for his future turning to reality. But all his joy had turned to ashes.

It didn't matter what he did or how hard he worked. He would always be the laughing stock in this school. He couldn't believe how naive he had been, thinking everything would work out.

And now he had to go home knowing his mother wouldn't be there. She had stopped writing to him a few weeks after the school year had started and she hadn't been there when he went home for Christmas. His father only said that she had left. The last time Severus had seen his mother she had been really sick. He didn't know if she was even alive or not. Tears started running down his face and he made no effort to stop them.

...

Sirius got into the Slytherins' compartment behind Avery. He was wearing James' invisibility cloak and was on a mission to drop a dungbomb in there. The marauders were making up for lost time. They had fallen behind their studies with everything else going on and had to hold off their mischief until the end of the OWLs. Sirius grinned and took a look around the compartment. The grin fell off of his face however when he saw Snape.

The boy was sitting in the corner hugging his knees to his chest. He was pressing his face to the window and looking at the wall. For once his greasy hair was out of his face and Sirius could see tears shining on his cheeks. The sight took him by surprise. Severus Snape did not cry. Sirius hadn't once seen him cry in the five years they knew each other. He hadn't cried when James broke his nose in second year or when he had burned his hand in potions fourth year. Snape never showed weakness. He fought and cursed and gave as good as he got. The boy he was looking at now was shaking all over and rocking himself back and forth.

Was this because of what they did? Was this the reason he hadn't come out of his dorm since then? He remembered how gleeful they had all been about it. The marauders had wanted to have another go at him, but whenever they checked the map Snape's dot had been in the dungeons. They had congratulate themselves for scaring off the git and laughed at his cowardice.

Sirius dropped his eyes. It had been a joke. They had just gotten through their history of magic exam and wanted to have some fun. It hadn't been just them either. It was the last day of exam and everyone was bored. They had all laughed and cheered them on. Even Lily had stood with her friends and watched, looking triumphant. This had gotten James more excited. They had all left for dinner afterwards. Sirius could remember Snape hurriedly crawling about reaching for his clothes like a blind man and dressing himself clumsily with shaking hands. It had seemed so funny to him at the time, but now the memory filled him with shame.

Sirius left the compartment. He decided to release the dungbomb in the bathroom.

...

The next morning Severus sat in the kitchen with his father. They haven't talked at all last night. As soon as he had arrived, Severus has gone to his room and his father hadn't sought him out. He usually spent the holidays either hanging out with Lily and helping his mother or studying in his room. Sometimes he would just sit and think about his future and fantasize about the life he would make for himself. This year neither Lily nor his mother were around, he wasn't in the mood for studying and he certainly wanted to avoid getting caught up in depressing thoughts.

Severus was dreading spending the day alone in the house and didn't want to chance coming across Lily outside. He watched his father gulp down the cheap coffee.

Severus took a deep breath and braced himself. "Dad?" he said, tentatively.

His father looked at him expectedly but didn't say anything.

"Can I come work with you at the mill?" asked Severus.

"You want to work at the mill?" asked his father slowly in response.

Severus swallowed his nervousness and went on. "I'm sixteen, now. I can help with money."

"You? Doing men's work?" mocked his father and snorted.

Severus stood up abruptly. He didn't need to be made fun of at home, too.

"I don't know why I bothered to ask!" he spat and stormed to his room.

Severus spent rest of the day and the day after cleaning the house to keep himself busy. It looked like nothing had been cleaned since his mother had left. Dust and dirt was covering everything. Severus ignored his father and the looks he gave him. He swept the floors, dusted the furniture, washed the tiles and cabinets and pretended he was alone in the world.

...

It was the third day of the summer holiday that Severus woke up to his father shaking his shoulder. He blinked a few times and scowled.

"Put some clothes on, you lazy boy." said his father with a glare.

"Why? You want me to go shopping?"

"I'll be down stairs. Don't keep me waiting." with that the man left. Severus stared at the doorway where Tobias had been standing for a few seconds then decided to get ready. It wasn't the best idea to make his father mad.

When Severus got down the stairs, Tobias was waiting at the door. They went out and started walking in silence. They were going to the nicer part of the town. Severus was getting nervous, he didn't want to run into Lily. He slipped his hoodie over his head and kept his head down.

They finally stopped in front of a shop. Severus looked up. It was a hair salon, a really posh one. "Are they hiring?" asked Severus hopefully.

"No, you're going to get a haircut. I won't have you working at the mill looking like this."

Severus stared at his father, stunned. Tobias huffed and pushed him through the door.

"I don't want to cut it short." said Severus hastily. His father didn't answer. He pushed Severus down on one of the a chairs and went over to talk to one of the barbers.

Tobias had them do the whole treatment. Shampooing, conditioning and styling. Severus just sat there and kept his mouth shut through the whole thing. He didn't want his father to regret his decision to let him work at the mill.

Finally it was over. Severus looked in the mirror and studied his reflection. His hair wasn't much shorter, just layered. It looked smooth and shiny and it refused to stay in one place like it used to.

"You have such beautiful hair. Just try to take care of it from now on." said the barber kindly. She ran her hand through his hair one more time and went to the register where his father was standing. Severus took another look at his reflection. His mother was always the one cutting his hair. He wasn't sure if he liked his hair like this. It looked very girly. He decided to keep this to himself, otherwise his dad might make him cut it all the way. He turned and looked at the register. The barber was handing his father a plastic bag loaded with bottles.

Severus hurried over there. "Dad, I don't need all that. It's expensive." he whispered. He had always made due with a bar of soap. He wouldn't need anything more now.

"It's my money, isn't?" snapped Tobias. He paid the barber and pushed Severus out the door. "Hurry up boy. We'll be late for work."

Severus' face lit up and he smiled for the first time in days.

...

Notes: When Sirius is thinking about what they did he describes Lily's impression as "triumphant". The reason Lily was triumphant, is that she blames Severus for ending the friendship and she saw the situation as proof that Severus is the one that needs her friendship and support.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Pub

Summary: Severus receives his OWLs results. Tobias tries to cheer him up.

Severus liked his job. Sure the work was hard and took a lot out of him, but the people there were nice enough. They tried to take it easy on him and were patient about explaining how things worked.

Severus was not used to physical labor. He came home tired and sore every night and went straight for bed. It was getting much easier though as he got used to it. He had also taken to doing pushups in the morning. Mr. Johnson had suggested it. He was one of his father's old coworkers. The man was friendly and for some reason was quite fond of him.

Severus also liked his uniform. It was the only brand new set of clothes he had and it almost fitted him perfectly. Severus of course preferred his second hand robes, but these were certainly the best muggle clothes he had ever owned.

Overall, Severus felt content. He was so busy with work he didn't have much time to duel on anything else. That was until his OWL results came in. They were just about to leave for work when a large barn owl got in through the open door and flew to him. It was carrying a parchment and a magazine. Severus put the magazine away and opened the parchment. He stare at it for a few seconds and then tossed it aside.

...

Severus sat in the kitchen with his father the next morning. He was still in a foul mood. He had been snappish and short tempered yesterday. No one at work had seemed to be put out by his behavior though, which irritated him more. They acted as if he was a child throwing a tantrum. Mr. Johnson had even ruffled his hair after Severus glared at him.

"What does 'O' mean?" asked Tobias suddenly.

"What?"

"From your report card. That's what it was, wasn't it?"

Severus sighed. "It means 'outstanding'. It's the highest mark you can get."

His father frowned. "So, when you get all o's, it's like getting straight a's." he concluded.

Severus nodded.

"Then why are you so pissed? It even said your paper got published in that magazine." asked Tobias, pointing to the magazine in the corner.

Severus sighed again. "It doesn't matter." he said quietly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" snapped his father.

"It doesn't matter, OK?" bellowed Severus, jumping out of his seat. "Nobody cares how good my grades are or how smart I am. Nothing I do will ever be good enough. I hate that damn school!"

"Is this because you split with that red haired girl from across the town?"

"It's not just her. They all hate me. They make fun of me and humiliate me all the time. I don't want to go back there."  
Severus spat. He stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind him.

...

Severus made to walk home after work but his father grabbed his arm and started to drag him in another direction.

"Where are we going?" asked Severus scowling, but didn't try to pull away. Tobias didn't answer.

Severus suddenly realized they were heading to the pub. His father and the others always hung out there after work. Severus never accompanied them, though. He knew there would be lots of drinking.

"I don't want to go to the pub. You'd be drinking." said Severus.

Tobias glance at him for second then pushed him inside. He directed Severus to the bar and faced the bar tender. "Two lemonades." he ordered.

"You're drinking lemonade?" asked the bar keep with a raised eyebrow.

"My son here doesn't want me drinking anything good."

"Good idea. I'll have one too." said Mr. Johnson, walking over to them. He winked at Severus. Severus gave a small smile in return.

After they got their drinks, Mr. Johnson turned to them. "So, do you boys want to play pool?" he asked with a smile.

"Sure" said Tobias, moving to the other side of the room.

Severus followed them to the pool table but stood aside. "I don't know how to play. I'll just watch." he told them.

"Nonsense. We'll teach you. It's not that hard." said Mr. Johnson, handing him a stick.

Severus looked over at his father.

"Come on then." said Tobias with a nod.

Severus smiled and moved closer. It didn't take too long for him to get the hang of the game. He even scored a few times. Severus really enjoyed himself. He had never spend much time with his father before.

Severus' good mood didn't last long, though. As soon as they got home, Tobias went for the whiskey bottle and started drinking.

...

Severus was cleaning up after work. Mr. Johnson smiled at him. "You know Severus, It's really good of you to help out your old man like that."

"What do you mean? I'm not helping him with anything." asked Severus confused.

"Sure you are, lad. In all the years I've known your father, I've never seen him give up a chance for drinking like he did last night."

Severus pursed his lips. "He started drinking the moment we got home." he said bitterly.

"That doesn't surprise me. But he's been much better since you came. It wasn't easy for him when your mom left." Mr. Johnson dropped his voice. "He came to work drunk a couple of times. If someone had found out, he could have gotten fired. I think he's really trying now." he continued.

Severus looked at where his father was standing. Tobias caught his eyes and nodded at him.

Severus went over there, determined. "Dad, Can we go to the pub again? I want to practice that shot you taught me." he said.

Tobias only shrugged in response, but Severus thought he saw his face soften. It soon became a habit to spend their afternoon playing pool at the pub.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter: Strategy

Summary: Severus finds a solution to his marauders problem.

It was Saturday afternoon. Severus was in the sitting room watching TV. His father came in and turned it off. "Don't you have homework to do?" snapped Tobias. September was getting closer and Severus had yet to open his books.

"I told you, I'm not going back there." said Severus, scowling.

"What are you going to do then? You want to work at that damn mill for the rest of your life?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong is that you're too god damn smart to waste your life like that. Look around boy, you think people here don't want to live better than this?"

Severus didn't answer. He dropped his eyes and stared at his hands.

"You only have two years of school left. If you quit now, you'd never get a decent job."

Severus looked up. "You don't know what it's like there."

"All I know is that you're smarter than the lot of them. You shouldn't let a bunch of brats ruin your future."

Severus frowned. His father was right. He didn't want to let the marauders and all the rest of them control his life like that.

"Now, stop lazing about and get on with your studies." said Tobias sternly. Severus got up and went to his room.

He sat on his bed deep in thought. He was too ambitious to give up on his future but he couldn't go back to being constantly bullied. He knew he couldn't handle it on top of everything else. Ignoring the marauders wouldn't make them go away and he knew he couldn't fight them. When Severus had first started school, he used to think if he became better with jinxes and curses he could stop them. Now he knew better. There was four of them and they had the other students' and the teachers' support. Severus realized the best he could do was try to avoid them. This was going to be no easy task, the marauders knew the school too well. Since first year they knew every corner and all the secret passages. It also looked like they always knew exactly where to look for him. The weirdest thing was how they would suddenly appear out of nowhere.

Now that he thought about it Severus could see that they mostly got to him on the way to the library. The marauders had learned not to try anything that would gather a crowd on the way to class or the great hall since teachers would be nearby. They threw hexes at him in passing and hissed insults, nothing more. Severus decided he had to time his comings and goings to library better. He thought of that day by the lake and realized he should also try to avoid wandering around on the grounds. It was too large and made him an easy target. Deciding that he needed to write things down, Severus reached for his bag absentmindedly and pulled out his notebook. He started turning the pages to find a blank one but stopped suddenly . He realized he had page after page of notes about magical tracking. If he could find a way to somehow track the marauders, things would get much easier. Severus smiled to himself and move to his desk. He had a lot of work ahead of him, not to mention homework.

...

Severus had a plan. He had gone through all his notes and had decided to use words as a means to track the marauders. There were a lot of methods for tracking people. You could put spells on someone's person or on their possessions and you could track down their magical signature. Severus had decided against all of those. Spells could easily be reversed, not to mention casting them without attracting the other person's attention would be another story and since Severus had four people to track, it was really unpractical. Also identifying people's magical signature was awfully complicated and required years of training.

The method Severus had chosen would allow him to track certain words and through that the person saying them. If he knew one thing about the marauders it was the fact that they would never shut up. Whenever he saw them, they were talking and laughing about one thing or the other. They had all these nicknames for each other, which reminded Severus of zoo animals, and they were quick with insults whenever they saw him. Luckily they always used the same words. The problem was that you needed to cast the spell on a few points in a certain location and you could only track the word within the vicinity of the spell. Severus had decided the best way to go about it was to put the spell on an item and carry it around. This way, whenever the marauders were close, the spell would alert him.

He couldn't do magic at home but he could choose the item now and cast the spell as soon as he got to Hogwarts. Severus decided on a plane leather bracelet. He got it from a muggle fake jewelry store. It was such a treat for him, being able to shop for himself. His father had given him some money from his salary. Severus had refused to take all of it. He didn't want to waste it on shopping, it was better to spend it on groceries and bills.

As it was, Severus didn't spend most of it. It made him feel better to have some money saved. He bought a few cheap shirts, pants and underwear. Robes were expensive though and his old robes were still serviceable, so he decided against spending money on them. He also wanted to use his mother's books. He had already taken a lot of notes in them and they made him think of her. So he only got a couple of new books that were necessary and a few notebooks, one for each lessen. He needed to start getting ready for NEWTs. He had decided if he took his notes in the library on the weekends, he would have a much better chance of avoiding the marauders. He would be doing his homework through the weekdays at his dorm based on his notes. He figured if he had breakfast at his dorm he would save a lot of time, so he bought some cheap coffee, a mug and a few boxes of shortbread.

The day before the train ride to Hogwarts, Severus finally caved and went back to the hair salon. He bought more products to make sure they would last through the school year. He had gotten used to his new look. His hair had gotten soft and silky and his skin was milky white and healthy looking. He knew people would be making fun of his change of appearance, but he figured they would do it either way.

...

Severus lifted his school trunk and moved down the stairs, careful not to make any noise. His trunk used to feel really heavy before, now it was rather easy to move. It was very early in the morning. Lily's dad usually took Severus and his mother to the train station, but this time he had to ride the bus to London alone, so he had woken up sooner than usual. Severus put his trunk by the door and went in the kitchen to get some coffee. He was surprised to see his father was already up and sitting at the table.

Severus poured himself some coffee and sat beside Tobias. They sipped from their mugs in silence. "Dad, is it OK if I write to you?" asked Severus. "I mean, it would come with an owl and you have to send the answer back with the bird." he added.

Tobias shrugged. "As long as it doesn't take time from your studies." he murmured.

Severus smiled in answer, then looked down into his mug. "You don't have to worry about me, dad. I'll be fine. You were right. I should focus on my future." he said.

His father nodded. "You'd better get going, then. It's getting late." With that Tobias stood up and went upstairs. Severus washed their mugs, then stood in the kitchen for a few more minutes before moving to the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Back to School

Summary: Severus arrives at Hogwarts. He discovers some of the marauders' secrets.

Notes: Hello everyone!

Thank you for reading and commenting. Spaceprincexx, Vengeance-Angel2010, risi, Fenris Jin, SingleWarrior043, I'm glad you guys like the story. I hope you like the rest as well.

...

The first week of class was a busy one. Severus had skipped the welcoming feast to have some privacy and charm the leather bracelet as soon as possible. He had been able to put on the charms without interruption and had spent the rest of the night unpacking. His housemates questioned him afterwards. Several people also asked why he hadn't been in any of the Death Eater meetings. Severus just waved them off, saying he had other stuff to deal with at home and that he needed some time to himself upon arriving. No one questioned him farther on it but they wouldn't shut up about the meetings they had attended. They hadn't met Voldemort or anyone from the higher ranks, but they were all excited about being more involved. Severus did his best to look interested and hung on their every word.

The bracelet was currently tied around Severus' left wrist. It was a bit loose and would tighten any time it was activated to alert him about the marauders' presence. The bracelet was thin and plain and didn't attract attention.

From the first day of class, Severus could see that his charms were working. Every time the marauders were around he would feel the bracelet tightening. They had a lot of classes together, since the NEWT level courses contained students from all four houses, so the bracelet came in handy a lot. It was specially useful in the corridors. Severus felt the alert a couple of minutes before their arrivals and he would start walking in another direction or try to hide between other students. He could feel their irritation rising each time they had a class together. They always bothered him most at the start of the term, excited to meet after summer and probably trying to have as much fun as possible before the workload increased.

Avoiding the marauders made a tremendous difference for Severus. He was more focused and confident now. He used to constantly look over his shoulder and agonize all day, worrying about what prank they would pull on him.

...

Sirius had spent his summer with the Potters. James' mom and dad were really nice people and didn't care that much about blood purity. Sirius had always envied James for his family. Sirius' parents were strict and they found fault with everything he did. All they cared about was him acting like the proper heir to the house of Black. Sirius doubted they actually cared about him. James' parents on the other hand were open about showing their affection. They didn't care if James acted like a good pureblood as long as he was healthy and happy. They weren't as wealthy as the Black family, but they could live comfortably and afford some luxuries.

That summer they were free to run around and enjoy themselves. They stayed up late talking and playing cards and woke up around noon. They spent their afternoons flying their brooms. The Potters had a quidditch pitch in their back yard. They also had Remus and Peter come over a few times. Sirius' parents would never have allowed people with inferior blood enter their home.

The summer should have been perfect, but Sirius hadn't enjoyed his friends' company as much as he used to. He began to notice how much time they spent making fun of people and planning their pranks.

Right now, they were planning an attack on Snape. It was Friday evening. The boy had managed to avoid them and dodge their pranks all week. Snape looked different this year. Sirius had been watching him since the first day of school. When Snape hadn't shown up at the welcoming feast, Sirius had actually started to worry. The Slytherin was certainly trying to avoid people. He didn't show up for breakfast and didn't hang around the library after class like he used to. His behavior had also changed. He used to be shifty and nervous, now he had an air of calm and confidence about him. Everyone always made fun of the way he walked and how much he resembled a spider. Now the boy didn't walk hunched over any more. He stood tall and walked with determination. It seemed he had grown over the summer and everyone had taken notice. He had apparently started to take showers on a regular basis, too. His hair now looked nicer than most of the girls. James said Snape was trying to win Lily over. It made sense, Snape had been following Evans around like a puppy since first year and the two of them hadn't been talking to each other for a while. James had tried to cut Snivellus' hair off with a spell after transfiguration the day before. The boy had ducked the spell with ease and had hurried away, as if he had been expecting it. James and him had both received a detention from Mcgonagall and lost 10 points for tearing at one of the paintings.

Now, they were all huddled over the map. They were hiding in an empty classroom on the fourth floor and they had the invisibility cloak at hand. They had a free period while Snape had arithmancy on the third floor. The marauders were hoping Snape would go down to the library after class.

Sirius looked at Snape's dot on the map, sitting in front of the class like he always did. He touched the edge of the old parchment absentmindedly. James has gotten the map and the cloak from their family safe. His parents, either hadn't noticed or didn't care. James thought one of his ancestors had made it, but Sirius knew for a fact that the map belonged to Hogwarts. Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait, the former Hogwarts headmaster and one of the Black ancestors, had talked about this. Apparently, the map was as old as the school itself and was linked to the wards surrounding the Castel. It was supposed to be in the possession of Hogwarts' headmaster and no one else was to know about it. The map had gone missing a few generations ago and Phineas talked about it as if it was a legend. The Hogwarts map was really useful. They had explored every inch of school and all of the secret passages their first year. They had made it their own in second year by putting a password on it. The map's ability to throw insults at people who tried to use it without the password, based on the marauders' impression of them, had been added later. Sirius had actually found the spells in the Black library. He was quite sure the spells were dark but he had kept that information to himself.

Finally the dot labeled Severus Snape started to move, but he didn't go downstairs in the direction of library or the dungeons, like they had expected. Instead he started moving up.

"Where the hell is he going?" asked James.

"I don't know Prongs, but he's still going up." answered Remus thoughtfully. They watched the dot move to the sixth floor.

"Bloody hell! The bastard's going to the Gryffindor tower! The slimy git is going to make a move on Lily." said James and snatched the map from Remus, looking for Lily. She was sitting in the common room with her friends. They watched as Snape got to the seventh floor, but the boy moved to the other direction. "He's going to the owlery." announced Sirius.

"Since when does the slim ball move so fast?" mused Peter.

"Never mind that, wormy" snapped James. "We've got to go. He might go to the Gryffindor tower on his way back." he added.

They got out of the classroom and started to move up the stairs. For the first time Sirius was not excited about pranking Snape. They all had been quite fed up with the git getting away all week and after the cutting curse James had thrown the other day, Sirius was worried about what would happen this time. He reached over and casually took the map from James.

By the time they got to the sixth floor, Snape was on his way back. "He's going to the seventh floor again. We can get him in the corridor." said Sirius.

They grinned to each other as they moved up the stairs. "We'll get him this time. I'm going to make Snivellus regret going after Lily." said James. "As if that greasy waste of the space would ever have a shot." he continued, snorting.

"Yeah, we'll set the snively git straight." added Petter gleefully.

They climbed the last few steps and stood just before the corridor leading to the owlery. James handed Remus the cloak. "You get under the cloak and stay here in case he runs. Have your wand ready to trip him. I don't want to take any chances this time." he said.

Remus nodded and put the cloak on. The rest of them took their wands out and started to move down the corridor. James and Sirius walking in the front and Peter tailing them. They moved slowly and got to the end of the corridor, but there was no sign of Snape. They could see the stairs case, it didn't look like he was there either. "Where the hell is he?" snapped James. "Check the map, Siri. Did he go up?" he asked.

Sirius took the map out of his pocket and checked the owlery, but didn't find him. He kept looking until he found the dot. Snape was standing in the middle of the corridor. Sirius looked back. 'The git is hiding behind the armours he thought. 'He must have heard our footsteps.' Sirius took another look at the map and saw Filch coming that way.

"Did you find him?" hissed James.

"He's back in the owlery." lied Sirius. "But Filch is coming this way."

"Shit. Come on guys, Filch is coming." announced James loudly to Peter and Remus. "Let's go in the common room. We'll just wait there till he leaves." With that they marched to common room entrance.

Severus held his breath until he was sure they were gone, then hurried down the stairs. He could hear Mrs. Norris meowing. He didn't stop until he reached the first floor then slummed against the wall to catch his breath.

Severus' mind was racing. He couldn't decide what was more shocking, the fact that the marauders had an invisibility cloak, like the one in the tale of three brothers or that they were tracking him! They had probably been doing it since first year. They had checked his location on a piece of parchment. The marauders were also tracking Filch by the looks of it. Everything started to make sense now, the way they had always seemed to be one step ahead of him.

Severus had planned to study after posting the letter to his father, but as soon as he entered his dorm, he sat on his four poster bed and started to put every anti tracking charm he knew of on himself and everything he owned. That night, the dot labeled Severus Snape vanished from the Hogwarts map.

...

Notes: My take on the "marauders map" is very different from canon. Although there isn't really any information on how the map works and how it was created in the books.

I don't buy that the marauders could have made a magical artifact like that. Not only because it sounds way too complicated for a bunch of teenagers (if it was easy people would be doing it all the time), the marauders were always too busy playing pranks and thinking about girls and quidditch. Not to mention they achieved the animagus transfiguration, which is complex magic and must have taken lots of research and practice.

I think magic has to make sense. It doesn't make sense that if you charm a piece of paper you could see people's location and their names on it. The charm has to be placed on the school itself.

This is how I think the map works: The ancient wards around the school identify the witch or wizard entering and put a tracking charm on them, this information and the location of that person materializes on the map.

Also, in book 3 when Professor Snape catches Harry Potter sneaking to Hogsmeade, he says the map is full of dark magic, because it was thinking on its own and throwing insults that the marauders would have used specifically for him. That's why I said the spells Sirius had found were dark and they had come from the Black library.

I would like to know your thoughts on this, so don't hesitate to comment.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: The Assistant

Summary: Severus makes a deal with Slughorn.

It was the third week of classes. Severus had settled into a routine. He used the library on weekends to take notes and did his homework through the week in his dorm. He also wrote to his father every week. After what had happened the first time he went to the owlery, Severus decided to send his letters Friday mornings. He had taken to waking up around 5 in the morning. It was the best time to study and do some exercise. With the level of physical activity he had gotten used to, Severus had started to feel restless after a few days in school. He still did his pushups in the morning but it wasn't enough. His father suggested for him to try running 'since he didn't know how to do much else'.

Severus knew some people went to the quidditch pitch early in the morning so he tried to stay out of site and ran by the lake and on the edge of the forest, near the greenhouses. It was very soothing and it gave him a chance to get some fresh air. All in all everything was going as planned. The marauders were still trying pranks on him, but with the amount of homework the NEWT level classes required they didn't have that much free time. Severus could tell the anti-tracking spells had worked. The marauders were definitely frustrated and they hadn't ambushed him again. Severus had decided to recast the spells every few days to be safe.

The only thing that bothered him was the way people were reacting to his new appearance. The jokes and name callings weren't a problem, he was used to that. There were also rumors going around that he had taken some dark potion. But that wasn't all. Severus was used to others ignoring his presence and looking the other way when they saw him. Now when he walked into a room, all the conversation would cease and everyone would stare at him. Then the giggling and whispering would begin. At first he thought he was imagining things, but he had caught a few people checking him out. Some would avert their eyes when they were caught looking, but others gave him odd looks or winked at him.

Severus also noticed Slughorn giving him weird looks. The man looked apprehensive, as if he was waiting for something to happen to Severus. The way students hoped for their teacher to get sick and miss class.

It was Tuesday morning when Severus finally figured it out. They had potions the first period. The professor kept looking between Severus, sitting alone at his usual desk in front of the class, and Potter and Black's desk in the middle row, holding his breath. It was near the end of the class when Severus' bracelet tightened for several seconds as he reached to add the rat spleens in the shrinking solution. Severus paused and checked the spleens, he realized they were covered by leech juice. He put them down and carefully wiped them with a rag. Severus' head shot up when he heard Slughorn sigh. The professor looked disappointed and was shaking his head while muttering under his breath. Severus narrowed his eyes as he added the rat spleens to his cauldron. That amount of leech juice would have ruined the potion and caused it to produce noxious gases.

'Why would Slughorn want me to mess up my potion?' he mused to himself. Severus sliced the caterpillar and added them, then left the potion to simmer and took another look at the man. Suddenly he knew. Slughorn was fishing for an opportunity to give him detention. Since second year Severus had been spending his detentions with Slughorn, brewing potions for the infirmary. Each year he was trusted with more complex potions. Slughorn had an understanding with the other teachers. He had asked them to let Severus spend his detentions with him as slytherin's head of house and he let them deal with their own students in return. Severus had always been thankful for that. He loved brewing and was proud of his work. It also lessened Severus' anger and hurt at the unfairness of being punished. Severus usually got a lot of detentions due to his fights with the marauders and the curses he threw at them.

Severus sighed, he could see now that Slughorn had been using him. The man was known to be lazy. Severus hadn't had a detention for most of the spring and the summer term last year nor in the new school year. He usually got into fights first few weeks of school since Potter and the others were more eager to get to him in the beginning of the school year. But he had been successful in avoiding them so far. Slughorn must be desperate for the extra help. The infirmary potion stock was probably low.

Severus started bottling his shrinking solution, deep in thought. His potion was the prefect acid green as expected. He heard Lily huff, from a little farther back, at the sight of the bright green mixture. Severus glanced in her direction. Lily was sitting with Mary Macdonald. Their potions were a dull dark green. Lily's looked slightly better than her neighbor's but not by much. Severus ignored them and filled his vial. The truth was that he wanted to continue his brewing. He knew he couldn't afford to brew on his own. The ingredients were expensive and he didn't have many of the tools that the professional brewers used. Severus had learned a lot and had perfected his performance in those detentions. He had eventually started to alter the potions assigned to him and also the ones he did in class. It was his little secret. He read up on the potions and their ingredients and tried out his theories while brewing. He was glad now that he had never had the nerve to tell Lily about this, afraid she wouldn't approve of his tampering with the infirmary potions. Not to mention he was not allowed to tell anyone what he did in detention. Severus and Lily used to sit together in potions class. He would always keep an eye on her cauldron and help her with brewing and handling unpleasant ingredients. Lily on the other hand, had never paid much attention to his brewing and Severus hadn't attracted attention to his alterations. He knew the recipes by heart and didn't use his book in class.

Severus glanced at the professor's mournful expression once more and smirked to himself. Slughorn didn't know how badly Severus wanted to continue brewing and since the man seemed to be in a jam, he had the upper hand. Severus put his vial on Slughorn' desk and started to clean his workstation methodically. He then sat about packing his things. Eventually others finished their potions and cleared out. Severus took a deep breath and stood up. "Professor?" he called, dragging Slughorn out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Snape. Great work today." said the professor without looking at Severus' potion, forcing a smile. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Severus nodded. "I have been thinking about my future and have decided to take my lessons more seriously. I'm really trying to stay out of trouble and just focus my energy on studying." he said.

Slughorn's smile vanished. "I see. Very … responsible of you."

Severus took another breath. "I request to be your brewing assistant."

"Brewing assistant?" asked Slughorn skeptically.

Severus didn't back down. "You and Madam Pomfrey both know that I am capable of doing most of the brewing and I'm sure it would ease your workload, sir." Slughorn opened his mouth to say something, but Severus continued. "I've always had the highest mark in your class, sir. And every year I have been the top student in my year. I got all O's in my OWLs and have a paper published."

The professor frowned. It seemed he was really considering the proposal. "Your paper was for defense against the dark arts, wasn't it?"

"It contained both defense and potions, sir. I researched werewolves and identified the potions that can be used to ease their transfiguration and also help people who had been attacked by werewolves."

Slughorn was quiet for a moment. Severus held his breath and tried to hide his nervousness.

"Well, I suppose I could bring it up at the next staff meetings. Like you said Mr. Snape, you are certainly capable of brewing the basic potions."

Severus' face lit up and he gave his professor a big smile. Slughorn's face softened and he continued warmly. "The meeting's on Thursday. Make sure to talk to Madam Pomfrey this evening, I'd expect she'd be on your side. Also, drop off your paper at my office and I'll do the rest."

Severus couldn't stop smiling. "Thank you, sir." he said earnestly.

"Now run along to your next class, lad. Seems like things would work out after all." The Professor seemed to be talking to himself, now. Severus nodded and hurried to the history of magic classroom, still smiling.

...

Thursday evening arrived. The staff meeting had started at 6. Severus was waiting in front of Slughorn's office. He was trying not to get his hopes up, but he was rather excited. He had missed brewing and he knew becoming an assistance would look good on his resumé. As he saw the bulky form rounding the corner, Severus braced himself and took a deep breath. Slughorn gave him a nod and ushered him in. Once they were inside, the professor turned to him and smiled. "Congratulations, Mr. Snape."

Severus blinked. "They agreed? I can be the brewing assistant?"

"Yes, it's done. I told you I would take care of it." answered Slughorn. "It was not easy, I'll tell you that. I had to put my foot down."

Severus frowned a little. "What do you mean, professor? What happened?"

Slughorn sighed and sat heavily behind his desk, gesturing for Severus to take a seat. "Well, when I announced that you should assist me in brewing, the headmaster insisted that I had to choose someone else and professor Mcgonagall recommended Ms. Evans."

"Lily?" spat Severus, his good mood vanishing.

"Yes, She's a lovely girl of course and quite talented. But Madam Pomfrey said she didn't trust anyone but you with the potions for the infirmary, which I agreed with. Then I reminded them that you were the only one who got an 'o' in OWLs and told them about the paper you wrote." Slughorn took a moment to catch his breath, then continued. "Turns out your defense teacher, professor Taylor, had read your paper and He only had good things to say about your performance. He mentioned that you were on top of your year. Professor Flitwick also told them how focused you have become recently. Well, at this point I told the headmaster that I would personally guarantee you would do a good job and that did it."

Severus gave a bright smile "Thank you, sir. I promise not to let you down." he said.

Slughorn smiled warmly in return. "I'm sure you will do a fine job, Severus. Now, we should try to work out a schedule. I want you to start as soon as possible."

"I was thinking every weekday after class. You just have to leave me a list and the ingredients every day and I'll finish up before curfew." Severus had actually thought about this. He didn't want to give up his mornings and he needed to have the weekends free for the library.

"Every weekday? That would work, I think. I have trusted you to work in the lab alone before, I suppose I can do it again. It would certainly be more convenient." said Slughorn thoughtfully. "I know Madam Pomfrey needs pepper up and calming draft."

"I could get started right away, Sir"

"Alright. You know where everything is. I have some marking to do." agreed Slughorn.

Severus got to the lab and started to work. Things were finally looking up for him.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Brewing  
Summary: Severus has a chat with Regulus. He also meets one of Slughorn's colleagues.

Severus put his bag down and dropped on his bed. It had been a long day. With the brewing and homework, he was busier than he had ever been but the brewing was enjoyable enough to make up for it.

There was a knock on the door. Severus sat up. "Come in." he called.

Regulus Black walked into the room. At the start of the school year, Severus had offered to tutor Regulus Sunday and Saturday after dinner to try and repay him for his help last year after the exams. Since then, Regulus had somehow gotten the idea that they were friends and Severus didn't have the heart to ignore him anymore.

Regulus stood by the door and frowned. "You were at Slughorn's office till now?" he asked.

Severus nodded. "I had to let the skele gro simmer before the final stage."

"Couldn't you leave it for Slughorn to finish? You knew we had a gathering tonight."

Severus sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Yeah, I knew. But I can't just leave my potions unfinished. Slughorn wouldn't have let me be his assistant if he wanted to do the brewing himself."

"You should talk to him, Severus. He can't expect you to do all his work for him. You're there all evening and when you come back you're too tired to do anything. You've missed most of the gatherings in the past two weeks."

Severus rubbed at his eyes and sighed again. "I'm not going to ask Slughorn for anything. I don't want to get on his bad side. All this is going to be pointless if he doesn't give me a recommendation in the end."

Regulus closed the door and sat down next to him on the bed. "I don't understand why you're doing this when you can see it's getting in the way of more important things. I thought you took our purpose more seriously." He look down and ran his fingers on the green sheets. "You know Severus, I've always wanted to be just like you." he admitted.

Severus' eyebrows shut up. "You want to be the least popular guy at school?" he asked slowly, not even attempting to hide his shock.

"It doesn't matter if you're not popular. You're better than everyone in dueling and dark arts."

"Those thing don't matter that much, Regulus. Nobody respects me here."

"Of course they matter! You're going to be one of the dark Lord's most valuable Death Eaters and everyone will respect you." answered Regulus haughtily.

"That won't happen. I could become the dark lord's right hand man and it wouldn't make a difference." Severus stared at Regulus' confused face for second, then continued. "You want to know why I'm doing this? Because I'm not like the rest of you. I don't have an inheritance or political influence. It's my sixth year, Reg. Right now I just want to focus on school. "

"The meetings are important too, Severus. If you prove yourself, you won't have to worry about anything else."

"Prove myself at what? Being a good lackey?" said Severus bitterly. "That's what everyone expects of me, you know. I have to figure things out for myself and think about my future." Regulus was quiet and subsided now. "If you want to be like me, you should start thinking about what you really want instead of doing what others expect of you." Severus continued.

Regulus got up and left. He looked disappointed.

...

Severus settled in the lab and filled the cauldron with water, then started gathering the ingredients from the shelves. He put them on his work table neatly and reached for the knife, when he heard Slughorn entering the office. He was talking to someone and chuckling. Severus picked up the roots and tried to focus on his task despite his curiosity. He was about to start cutting when the door opened. Severus looked up and saw Slughorn walking in with a tall man in toe. "Ah, Severus. I see you're here already."

"Yes, sir. I was just about to get started on the healing potion."

"That can wait, lad. Right now, I need you to make something else for my colleague here." said Slughorn. "Severus, meet Master. Damocles Belby, former student of mine and one of the finest potioneers in the country."

Severus' eyes fell on the other man. He looked around forty and had blond hair and brown eyes.

"How do you do, sir?" said Severus politely.

"Nice meeting you, Severus. I've hear you are Professor Slughorn's brewing assistant. Do you have any prior experience? An apprenticeship perhaps?"

Severus glanced at Slughorn for a second, frowning before looking back at the potioneer. "No, sir. I haven't finished school, yet."

Belby's eyebrows shut up. "You're in seventh year?"

"Sixth year, actually."

Belby snorted and turned to Slughorn. "Really, Horace? Is this a joke?" he snapped.

Slughorn chuckled. "Just give him the recipe Damocles, will you?" he said.

Belby nodded and handed Severus a roll of parchment. Severus glared at the man for a second, then unrolled the parchment and started reading. The recipe didn't include the potion's name. It was awfully complicated and appeared to be some kind of anti-poison. Severus looked up and opened his mouth to get more information but as he saw the smug look on the potioneer's face, changed his mind.

He went about gathering the ingredients and putting back what he didn't need anymore, then stood beside the cauldron to start. Severus adjusted the heat, diced the fire seeds and powdered the unicorn horns. He was about to add the fire seeds to the cauldron when he suddenly stopped and took another look at the parchment. He shook his head and turned off the burner. An ordinary cauldron couldn't handle this mixture, the exact type needed should have been mentioned in the recipe. Severus went over to the cabinet. He could feel that Slughorn and Belby were observing his every move. Severus pulled out a copper cauldron, figuring it would do the trick and went back to the table. He heard Slughorn making a satisfied noise and looked up. It was the potion professor's turn to be smug and Belby was frowning. Severus sighed and went back to work. He toned them out completely and focused on the potion.

...

Severus turned off the burner and put the cauldron away to cool. The potion had been a challenge but Severus knew he had pulled it off. It had been quite pleasant to do something other than basic healing potions. As Slughorn and Belby came over to inspect the results, Severus finally looked up. He was curious about the potion in spite of himself.

Belby picked up the ladle and bent over the cauldron. He straightened after a couple of minutes and stared at Severus. "It seems, you have won the bet Horace." said the potioneer, not taking his eyes off of Severus. The man was smiling now.

Severus' eyes narrowed. "Bet? What bet?" he asked suspiciously.

"Professor Slughorn bet that his brewing assistant could brew this recently created anti-posion without the supplementary instructions. I must admi,t I would never have dreamed a Hogwarts student could achieve such a task. I'm quite impressed, Severus."

Severus blushed. "Thank you, sir" he mumbled.

"Severus is my best students here. He had a paper published in ministry's monthly issue last semester. It was about werewolves and the potions that could be used for them"

Belby's eyebrows shut up again. "I think, I will attend your Halloween party after all, Horace" He then turned to Severus. "Perhaps we could discuss your paper, then?" he asked.

"Sure." answered Severus with a bright smile.

"How about a drink, Damocles?" said Slughorn, holding the door open.

With that the two potion masters went back into the office. Severus started to clean his workstation. He was already anticipating that discussion.

...

Notes: In case you were wandering, Damocles Belby is the inventor of the wolfsbane potion (It hasn't happened yet, though).


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: The Slug Club

Summary: The Halloween party doesn't go the way Severus had anticipated.

Severus knocked on the door and entered Slughorn's office. Last night, the professor had asked him to be there first thing in the morning, but hadn't mentioned what it was about.

"Severus! Come in." said Slughorn. He stood up from behind his desk and started to put on his cloak. "I asked you here to go shopping. You're excused from your history of magic class, of course and I'm sure you can make up for it." he continued.

Severus fell into step beside Slughorn as the man exited his office. "Shopping? I thought you had all the ingredients owled in, sir" he commented.

"Oh, we're not going to the apothecary." Slughorn paused, as if gathering his thoughts. "You have been working really hard and all the other teachers admit that you're doing a good job. So when I proposed that the school should pay you, since this year we weren't forced to buy any of the potions we need, they all agreed. And I insist that you spend your first payment on dress robes."

"Dress robes? I don't need that." said Severus, frowning.

"Sure you do, Severus. You're a fine looking lad, but if you want to make an impression on people you need to look sharp. Your work robes are fine for class and brewing but every man needs some formal clothes at hand. Just trust me on this. You can spend the rest of your money however you please, but this time we're going to get you some stylish dress robes. You can wear them to the Halloween party, since you have that meeting with Master. Belby."

Severus didn't say anything but sulked all the way to Hogsmeade. Soon enough they entered Gladrags Wizardwear. Severus refused to get anything with ruffles, lace or beading. Finally, after trying on a dozen robes in different colors and styles, they decided on a midnight blue one with a geometric patterns.

...

Severus was wearing his new dress robes. They were the fanciest thing he had ever worn. They had arrived the day before and the fit was perfect.

As much as Severus was looking forward to seeing Master. Belby again and discussing his paper with the man, he couldn't help but feel nervous about the party. Severus had always gone to the Slug club with Lily. He didn't enjoy the parties but it was nice to spend time with her. They would sit together, Lily mingling and laughing with others while Severus just sat there and listened to her talk. He didn't speak to anyone unless he was spoken to and when Lily got too caught up in a conversation or started to dance with her friends, he would just leave.

Severus hadn't gone to any of those events since his fight with Lily. He stood by the door to Slughorn's office and took a deep breath, trying to focus on his paper. He hated to admit it, but the brand new robes helped him feel more confident. He went inside and started to take a look around. Professor Taylor nodded to him from across the room. Severus nodded back with a smile, his tension vanishing. Before long he spotted Master. Belby talking to Slughorn.

Severus made to move in their direction when someone called him. "Hey, Snape!" Severus whirled around. Lily was marching over there, glaring daggers at him.

"What are you doing here? Are you stalking me, now?" snapped the girl.

Severus narrowed his eyes. "I'm here for the party. Didn't know I had to get your permission." he spat.

"This party is for members only and their guests. And you are neither."

"What the bloody hell are you on about?" hissed Severus. "I have been a member of Slug club since first year."

Lily snorted. "You were never a member! I was always the one bringing you in."

"Nobody cares what you think!" Severus snapped and made to move past her but someone cut his arm. It was the Ravenclaw perfect. "Mate listen, if you're not a member you'd better leave now and not make trouble." said the boy. A few people had gathered around them.

"I am a member!" answered Severus. Lily snorted again.

"Why don't you just show us your invitation to sort this out?" continued the perfect calmly.

Severus huffed but reached into his pocket and took out the invitation. He held it up for them to see.

"That doesn't prove you're a member. I'd bet anything that you stole that from Slughorn's office." sneered Lily. "Is this what this whole brewing assistance nonsense has been about? What's next? You're going to brew another one of those dark potions and take it to your master, Snivellus?"

Severus balled his hands into fists, resisting the urge to punch the smug, superior look off her face. He took a breath and opened his mouth to answer, when Slughorn suddenly appeared beside them. "Severus, there you are!" the man exclaimed. He put his arm around Severus' shoulders and started to drag him away from the crowd. "I hate to interrupt your conversation with your friends but Master. Belby is waiting."

"Master. Belby? In which field does he have a mastery, sir?" asked Lily sweetly, following them.

Slughorn turned around and gave her a polite smile. "My apologies Ms. Evans, but Master. Belby wants to have a private conversation with Severus. Go try some of those raspberry cupcakes. They're quite tasty." he said.

Lily sighed dramatically and pouted. The potion professor paid her no mind and urged Severus to walk faster.

...

Sirius had come to the Halloween party with Susan Williams, a Huffelpuff fifth year, but he wasn't going to let having a date limit him. As the Huffelpuff started talking and giggling with the other girls, Sirius offered to get her a drink.

He stood by the punch bowl and started to scan the room, taking in the occupants and weighing his options. His eyes stopped on one figure. The boy had his back to Sirius and didn't look familiar. Sirius frowned. He knew all the members of the Slug club and basically all the hotties in school, but he couldn't place this one. The boy was lean and tall, but not as tall as he was and had shiny black hair. He was wearing plain but elegant, dark blue robes. Sirius could tell the mysterious boy was slightly muscled. He also had a nice ass on him. Sirius smirked to himself. He wouldn't mind getting to know this boy.

The hottie was talking with a tall blond man, probably one of Slughorn's former students. The both of them were rather engaged in a discussion. Sirius decided he needed to get a better look. He went back to Susan and took her to the dance floor. As he started to guide, he finally found a good angled to see the boy's face. He froze, suddenly. It was Snape!

It took a few minutes for Sirius to get over his shock. He told Susan he was sore from quidditch and couldn't dance anymore. She just shrugged and started to dance with her friends. Sirius stepped out of the dance floor and slowly moved closer to Snape and his companion. He couldn't hear much of the conversation, but he could tell the two of them were talking about some potion and the different effects of the ingredients. He had never seen Snape so confident and relaxed. His black eyes were sparkling with excitement and every once in a while he smiled, it made his whole face change. Sirius couldn't remember seeing the boy smile before, it looked good on him.

Eventually the man shook Snape's hand and left. The boy just stood there awkwardly, playing with the edge if his robes and looking down at his worn shoes. Little by little all that excitement and joy seemed to disappear. Sirius couldn't stand it. He found himself walking over there. Before he realized what he was doing, he grabbed the boy's robes and pushed their lips together.

Snape went still. His lips were soft and tasted of strawberries. Sirius pushed his tongue between them with ease. That seemed to pull the other boy out of his shock, he gasped and pushed Sirius away. "Wha …. What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled.

Sirius frowned. He had not anticipated this reaction. "It's called a kiss, you moron." he Snapped.

"I'm the moron?! You're the one who ..." Snape trailed off, looking around. Sirius realized everyone had gone quiet and they were all staring at them. Snape turned and practically ran out of the room. Sirius stood there, dumbfounded. He had never been rejected like this.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Reflection

Summary: Sirius and Severus each talk to their friends about what happened.

Sirius didn't stay at the party for much longer. Everyone kept staring at him as if he had lost his mind and Susan Williams was sending him death glares from the dance floor. Sirius kept trying to wrap his head around what had happened all the way to the Gryffindor tower. He had kissed Snape on impulse. His heart had ached at the sight of the boy's loneliness. He had just wanted to wipe that look off of his face. The worst part was that he had liked it.

Sirius was nervous about his friends' reaction. None of them had been at the party but with the speed gossip traveled in school, they would find out soon enough. He could only imagine how worked up James would get over this. One of the marauders making out with Snivellus in front of everyone, behind his friends' back … James was going to stop talking to him and Peter and Remus would probably follow his lead. Sirius couldn't lose his friends. They were all he had. He decided he needed to tell them his own version of the events before the news reached the Gryffindor common room. He stood in front of the fat lady portrait and braced himself, preparing to tell his friends how he had succeeded to humiliate Snivellus at the party.

...

That morning Severus didn't feel like doing anything. He woke up early like he always did, but didn't go about his routine. He always went to the library on Saturdays, but he figured he could skip studying this weekend since he was already ahead in most classes and after what had happened last night he couldn't really focus on school work. It was not just the fact that Black had made fun of him that was bothering Severus, that rotten boy had also stolen his first kiss. Before coming to school Severus had fantasized about kissing Lily. She was magical like him and had the most beautiful eyes. Lily was nice and always had time to listen to his stories about magic. He had never dared to actually kiss her, but he had been planning to become the greatest wizard of all times and marry her. His mom already liked her plenty. The three of them would have gone to live in the wizarding world and stayed there for the rest of their lives. This all chanced when they went to Hogwarts. They started to drift apart and being bullied made Severus lose his confidence little by little.

He had realized he was attracted to boys when he walked in on Lucius making out with Narcissa in his second year. Lucius was very handsome and he was kind to him. He always encouraged Severus and helped him in any way he could, from lending him his books to introducing him to his friends and standing up for him. Severus had been terrified that Lucius might find out about his crush and end their friendship or worst, be disgusted. He had eventually started to get over his crush when Lucius graduated.

Severus knew he wasn't attractive or likable but he had always dreamed his first kiss would be with someone who liked him. Someone nice and caring. Now, Black had ruined it. The way he and his friends had ruined everything else. His first train ride, first day of school and basically every day that had followed.

Severus looked up when he heard someone come in. It was Regulus. "Hey, are you alright?" asked the boy.

"Yeah, fine." answered Severus lamely.

Regulus sat down at the foot of the bed and stared at him for a second. "I was at the party last night. You looked upset." he commented.

Severus smiled a little. "So, you're talking to me now?" he asked.

Regulus blushed and looked down. "I'm sorry, Severus. I didn't mean to avoid you. It's just … I wasn't …"

"It's fine, Reg. You don't have to explain."

"But I want to." He took a deep breath. "Everything had always been about Sirius, you know? It was like my parents didn't notice I even existed. And every time we had guests or went to a party, Sirius made sure he was the only one they paid attention to. But now suddenly all of their expectations has fallen on me. It's as if they're seeing me for the first time. And I just want to make them happy."

Severus nodded. "I know what it's like when people dismiss you no matter what you do. And I understand why you want to do what they ask. But this is your life. You can't let your parents or your cousins control you like that." He squeezed Regulus' hand. "You don't give yourself enough credit, Reg. You shouldn't just settle for what they're offering. The bottom line is that you're the heir now and you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"What am I supposed to do, then?" asked Regulus.

Severus sighed again. "You don't have to decide right now. Just … just don't seal your fate before you have figured things out." he answered.

They both went quiet for a while.

"You want to go to breakfast?" asked Regulus.

"Not really. I can't face anyone right now. I'm sure they're all still laughing about it."

"Come on, Sev. It wasn't that bad, really."

Severus snorted.

"Ha! Didn't know Sirius was such a bad kisser. It looked hot from where I was standing." said Regulus, chuckling.

Severus glared at him. "Very funny!" he snapped.

Regulus sighed. "I don't understand why you're so embarrassed. Sirius is the one who made an ass of himself."

"He is. But nobody's going to make fun of HIM."

"They won't make fun of you either. You'll see." Regulus stood up and pulled Severus to his feet. "You'd better get used to this. Everyone thinks you're one of the sexiest guys in school. Actually, there's this guy …"

"Fine! Let's go have breakfast." snapped Severus, cheeks burning. "Just stop talking."

...

Sirius was sitting at the Gryffindor tale with his friends. His plan had worked and for some reason Lily Evans had backed his story. They couldn't understand why he had to kiss the boy to humiliate him, with all the hexes he could have used instead. Sirius had just told them it had looked like a good idea at the time and he hadn't thought it through, which was the truth.

Sirius was glad he still had his friends but he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He never in a million years would have expected to find Snape attractive, but seeing the boy happy and confident had made all the difference. It hadn't helped that Snape had been wearing those handsome dress robes instead of his regular worn clothes. It was definitely the new robes, Sirius decided.

That thought lasted for about five seconds before he saw Snape walk in the great hall along with Regulus. They sat at the slytherin table talking and teasing each other. Sirius couldn't take his eyes off of them. He had never felt more jealous in his life.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Hogsmeade

Summary: Severus goes on a date.

Severus was sitting at his favorite table in the library with Regulus. They had been studying together for a while. It was nice to have someone to sit with and Regulus was a good study partner. He was quiet and studious. He also didn't expect his help, the way Lily did. The boy seemed to genuinely enjoy his company.

Severus was caught up in a fascinating text about the ancient arithmancy and its origins when Regulus nudged him in the ribs. Severus looked up, scowling. "What?" he snapped.

Regulus pointed to a figure standing by their table. "Evan wants to sit with us."

"If it's OK with you." added Evan. Smiling one of his sweet smiles.

Severus looked at his study partner. "I don't mind if you don't." said Regulus. It seemed he was trying to hide a smile.

Severus looked back to Evan and shrugged. "As long as you don't distract us, it's fine." he consented.

"I won't. I promise." answered the boy brightly with a wink. He wasted no time in putting his books down and sat right next to him.

Severus went back to his book and started to take notes. Every once in a while he felt like Evan was staring at him and when he looked up the boy would just smile and go back to his homework. Severus tried his best to ignore him. The boy had been acting really weird lately and it looked like everyone knew what it was about except him.

Evan Rosier was a year above him, so they didn't have classes together but lately, Severus kept running into him everywhere else. It had started with the great hall. Evan would sit across from him and Regulus instead of sitting with the other seventh years and talk to them as if they had been friends all along. After a while the boy had started to sit next to him by the fire in the common room. He would always have some sweets or snack and coaxed him into eating. Evan was a nice enough guy and really fun to hang out with, but Severus was sure the boy was after something.

They studied in peace for the rest of the day. Every once in a while Regulus would ask questions. He had a defense against the dark arts exam and Severus had promised to help him study. Turned out, Evan was really good at defense and he had some original ideas of his own. Before he knew it, they were sitting in the great hall for dinner and having a discussion about vampires and their hunting habits. They went to the common room together after dinner and sat by the fire. After a few minutes Evan cleared his throat. "Severus, do you want to go to Hogsmeade together?" he asked hesitantly.

Severus blinked a few times. "I do have to go to the post office, I guess we could hang out. Regulus has a date anyways." he said.

Evan blushed at that. Severus frowned, confused. Regulus was giving him a weird look.

"Actually I meant … I …I want to take you on a date."

It was Severus' turn to blush. He looked at Evan Rosier's embarrassed faced. The boy seemed genuine. "Alright." he finally answered.

Evan grinned. "Great, I'll pick you up in the common room at 9." he said.

Severus nodded, blushing some more and watched the boy practically run to his dorm.

"Thank Merlin! Finally!" exclaimed Regulus as he slumped in the sit next to him. "You know Severus, for such a smart guy you're really clueless. Everyone and their mothers knew he had a crush on you. I saw Sirius giving him some nasty looks at dinner."

"What? You're serious? Why didn't you tell me?" asked Severus, scowling.

"I didn't think I had to. With the way he was stalking you I thought you'd figure it out."

Severus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, next time just tell me."

...

Severus was in the common room five minutes early. Soon enough Evan showed up, looking sharp as ever and grinning from ear to ear. "Hey, Severus. Ready to go?" he asked, cheerfully.

Severus nodded with a smile. They started to walk to the entrance hall together. Evan was chatting mindlessly the whole way and Severus did his best to keep the conversation flowing. As soon as they got out of the castle and started to walk on the path to Hogsmeade, Evan took his hand. It was kind of weird to hold hands with a boy in Hogsmeade but Severus was enjoying himself. The weather was a bit cold this time of year but the sky was clear and the cottages were already decorated for Christmas.

"So, you wanted to go to the post office?" asked Evan.

"Yeah, but it won't take long. I'm just going to pick up some things I've ordered for Christmas."

Evan nodded. "We should go to Honeydukes after that. I've got some shopping to do there. Do you want to go to Madam Puddifoot's when we're done? "

"Yeah, sure. It would be fun to walk there. It's really nice here today." That got another grin out of Evan and he gave Severus' hand a gentle squeeze. Severus had gone to Madam Puddifoot's tea shop with Lily once and he wasn't a big fan. The place looked too girlie for his taste. But Evan seemed really excited about it and Severus didn't mind going with him.

There was a line at the post office, so it took longer than Severus had anticipated. He had ordered a silver lighter from a muggle antique store for his dad and a book on ancient runes from Diagon Alley for Regulus. Severus put both presents in his bag and they headed to Honeydukes across the street.

The sweet shop was much more crowded than the post office. It looked as if all the villagers and Hogwarts students were there, stocking up on candy. Evan was probably the worst one. Apparently he believed sweets were the perfect gift for anyone. Which made sense, so Severus bought some brownies and fudge to take home and a box of Crystallised Pineapple for Slughorn, he had heard they were the man's favorite.

As soon as the two of the left Honeydukes, Evan opened a box of Glacial Snow Flakes. Severus had never had any of those. They melted in their mouth and tasted like pupsicle. Evan talked about his favorite sweets all the way to the tea shop. The place was just the way Severus remembered. Full of pink and purple with floral patterns on everything. They got quite a few stares but ignored it. Severus felt much more confident with Evan by his side.

They found an empty table in a corner and ordered some cocoa. "So, you like this place? I don't remember seeing you come here before." asked Evan suddenly.

"I came once with Lily Evans, our third year. She didn't have a date and wanted to see what it was like here."

"You two were pretty close back then." said Evan, looking apprehensive. "You're not friends with her anymore, are you?"

"No, we had a fight last year and haven't been talking since then. I got tired of her attitude, you know? She can be really selfish."

That answer seemed to ease the other boy's tension. "Yeah, I've always thought she was the obnoxious type. It's got to do something with her upbringing." said Evan.

Severus nodded. He decided to change the topic. "So, you come here often?"

Evan blushed. "Not … not that often, just a few times with … look, our drinks are ready."

Severus lifted an eyebrow. He knew how popular Evan was and he had seen him talking to his friends about his dates enough times, but let the issue drop. He took a sip of his cocoa and closed his eyes for a second in appreciation of the hot liquid. "This is good." he declared.

"Yeah, the tea is good, too. But this is their special drink near Christmas." Evan blushed again, realizing he had given away how good he knew this place. Severus hid a smirk behind his mug. They sipped their drinks in silence for a while. Then Evan cleared his throat. "You want to go grab some lunch at the Three Broomsticks, after this?"

"Sure, sounds good." answered Severus. They finished their cocoa and stood up. Evan touched Severus's arm, then leaned forward and kissed him gently before hurrying over to the counter to pay. Severus blushed crimson. He was the one to reach and take Evan's hand this time.

...

Severus was half way through his shepherd pie when he spotted Professor Slughorn approaching their table in the three broomsticks. From the grim look on the man's face Severus knew something was wrong. Slughorn sat down heavily next to them. It took a moment for him to catch his breath.

"Professor? What's wrong?" asked Severus hesitantly.

"I have bad news, Severus." He paused and looked in Evan's direction. "Mr. Rosier, would you mind giving us some privacy?" he asked.

Severus felt his panic rising, he grabbed Evan's hand. "No! Please, just tell me what happened." he pleaded.

Slughorn nodded. He took out his wand and casted a privacy spell, then took a deep breath. "I've got word that your father has passed away a few days ago. I'm so sorry." he said finally.

Severus felt bile rise up in his throat. Evan gasped and squeezed his hand. "You mean he's … he's dead? That can't be true." He swallowed, blinking back tears. "He just wrote to me last week. He said he was fine. I … I bought his Christmas present."

Slughorn flinched at that. "I'm sorry, Severus. It is true. There had been an accident at his workplace. It was very sudden. It took a while for us to receive the news, since no one contacted the school directly. The muggle authorities informed the Ministry and they owled us." He wiped his face and sighed. "You should go home. The funeral's this afternoon, your father's friend has arranged everything. I've got your things. I'll apparate you to London and get you a ticket from there to your town."

"Funeral?" whispered Severus. Tears were falling down his cheeks. Evan stood up and pulled him in a hug. They stood like that for a few minutes. Finally Severus pulled away and started to wipe the tears with his hand. Evan gave him a handkerchief. "Is there something I can do?" he asked gently.

Severus nodded as he reached for his bag. He pulled out the runes book with shaking hands and put it on the table. "Give this to Regulus." he said weakly, then handed slughorn the box of Crystallised Pineapple. "This one's for you, sir."

Slughorn took the box uncomfortably and gave him a crooked smile. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Severus stood up and took a deep breath. He hugged Evan again and numbly followed his professor out of the pub.

...

Notes: I know what you guys are thinking. Even though I knew this was coming I felt really bad about Tobias' death. But now Severus has an excuse for avoiding Death Eater meetings in winter holiday and there was always the possibility that Voldemort would use his father to get to him or kill him in retaliation.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Family Summary: Severus finds a job for the holiday.

Sirius was way off his game. He had planned on going to Hogsmeade with a Ravenclaw girl. He took her to the Three Broomsticks. Things were going fine until Sirius thought he saw Snape through the window, moving amongst the crowd. He stood up in the middle of a sentence and went outside, but Snape wasn't there anymore. He thought he must have gone inside Honeydukes, but he couldn't find him there either. By the time Sirius got back to the pub his date had left. He sat there by himself for a while until he noticed one of the girls making eyes at him. That didn't go well, either. He was too distracted and when the girl made a move on him, he gave her some excuse about meeting his friends and left.

He found his friends at Zonko's and they hung out for a while. It was fun, until James spotted Lily Evans in Honeydukes and they started their flirting. Sirius discreetly left his friends and went back to the Three Broomsticks. It was almost noon and he was hungry. He went to the back of the pub to find a seat, but suddenly stopped in his tracks as he saw Snape. He made to go over there but he realized the boy wasn't alone. He was sitting with Evan Rosier, the Slytherin chaser, and Professor Slughorn. Sirius couldn't hear what they were saying but he could tell Snape was upset. Sirius frowned as the boy put a parcel on the table and then handed Slughorn a box of sweets. Then he stood up and pulled Rosier in a hug. Sirius couldn't believe what he was seeing. First Regulus and now Rosier. He balled his hands into fists in frustration. A few minutes later, Snape left with Slughorn.

Sirius was sitting on his bed. He was half listening to his friends' chatter. James was talking about Lily, which wasn't a big surprise, "I still can't believe you ditched us, Padfoot." said James, pouting.

"Yeah, we were all hanging out and you just left." added Peter.

Sirius sighed. "I told you, there was this girl and she wanted me to buy her a butter beer. What did you expect me to do? Tell her she had to wait until you guys were finished?"

"You could have at least told us you were leaving, Siri" Remus pointed out.

"We're friends, mate. You can't just leave and do you own thing."

Sirius took a deep breath, he was real close to losing his temper. "So, you're telling me if Evans had asked you out right there you would have invited the rest of us to come along?" he snapped.

James narrowed his eyes. "Lily's not just some random girl, she's special to me and I won't let you talk about her like that!"

Sirius bit his tongue and didn't answer. They were quiet for a while. Peter suddenly perked up, as if remembering something. "Hey, Prongs! Guess what I heard today."

"I'm not going to guess! If you have something to say Wormy, just say it already." snapped James, still angry.

Peter blushed. "I … I heard Snivellus was at Madam Puddifoot's, this morning." he said.

James sat up. All traces of annoyance vanished from his face. "Snivellus, at Puddifoot's?! What the hell was that slime ball doing there? Was he like spying on people?"

"No, one of the fifth years saw him on a date. With a boy!" announced Peter smugly. Sirius' stomach turned to knots.

"What?! Who in their right mind would go out with Snivellus?" said Remus, chuckling.

"Yeah, and he was there with a boy." repeated Peter.

"No one cares about that, Wormtail! We're not muggles." James snapped again, thought this time there was no heat in it. "I bet it was a prank. You know, like you wanted to do on Halloween, Pads. " he continued.

Sirius couldn't take it anymore. He stormed out of the room, slamming the door on his way out.

Slughorn accompanied Severus all the way to Cokeworth and ended up attending the funeral. The service was a small one. Most of the people there were from the mill. At the sight of Mr. Johnson's friendly face, Severus lost all control and started crying.

After a while people lined up to say their condolences and left one by one. Slughorn also had to go. He was reluctant to leave but he needed to get back to Hogwarts before dinner time.

Mr. Johnson and his wife dragged Severus to their house for dinner and insisted on him sleeping in their guest room. Severus sat on the bed in darkness for a long time and eventually fell sleep. That night he dreamed of the day he had long ago forgotten. It was his birthday. They had cake and his father put him up on his shoulders. He sat there giggling as he played with the man's huge ears.

Severus woke up, confused. He could still remember the feel of his father's ears in his hands. It took a while for him to realize his father was dead. He was still wearing the jacket Slughorn had transfigured from his school robes. Severus took it off with a sigh and went to the washroom. It wasn't long before Mrs. Johnson called him from downstairs.

When they sat in the kitchen for breakfast, Mr. Johnson put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Your Professor said you were excused from classes this week. We want you to stay here till after the holiday and we're not taking no for an answer." he said, kindly.

Mrs. Johnson smiled warmly at him as she stacked his plate with eggs. "If you need anything at all you have to tell us, alright? We're here for you." she added.

Severus was quiet for moment, then he remembered something. "I need to get a job for the holiday. Do you think you could help me with that?"

"You don't need to worry about that right now, Severus. You will receive some money from the insurance company." answered Mr. Johnson.

"I have to use that to pay off the mortgage on the house."

"He could work for Dan, Thomas." said Mrs. Johnson brightly.

"That's not a bad idea. He's always nagging he doesn't have enough help in the holidays." Mr. Johnson told his wife before turning to Severus. "Dan's my cousin. He has a bar in London. He doesn't like to hire strangers. You'd be doing him a favor. If you want, I'll call him right now before he goes to work."

"I don't know. I don't have anywhere to stay in London."

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out." With that the man stood up and disappeared in the hall. Severus could hear some of the conversation as he played with his food.

After about ten minutes Mr. Johnson came back in the kitchen, smiling. "Like I said he was relieved when he heard I knew someone. His new shipment has just arrived. He needs someone to sort those out in the storage right now, and someone extra to tend the bar for the holiday." He sat back in his chair with a sigh, then continued. "Dan said there's an empty room upstairs you can use. He wants you there as soon as possible. What do you say, lad? "

Severus gave a small smile. "I can still catch the bus to London." he commented.

"Nonsense, dear. If you want to leave us so soon, you should at least let us drive you. Thomas isn't working today. We'll get going after breakfast and we can have lunch in London before we drop you off at Dan's." said Mrs. Johnson. "Now finish your breakfast and take a shower before we leave."

Severus wanted to protest but when he saw the look on their faces changed his mind. He picked up his forked and tried to get some of the egg down.

When they got to the bar, Mrs. Johnson pulled Severus aside and handed him an old photo. There was a small black haired boy in the picture sitting in front of a birthday cake with three candles on it.

"This is from your third birthday. We held it in our house." said Mrs. Johnson. "You see, our families were really close back then. I used to babysit you all the time, when you were this wee thing. But one day, your parents … well, it seemed like they didn't want us near you anymore and it broke my heart." She took Severus' hand in hers and squeezed. "I just want you to remember, you still have family."

Severus nodded as Mrs. Johnson pull him in a hug. "I promise." he whispered.  
...

Notes: For those of you who don't remember, Mr. Johnson is Tobias' old coworker from the mill. 


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The bar

Summary: Sirius goes to a muggle bar with Remus.

Working at the bar wasn't easy. They were open around the clock in the holiday and there was a lot of work to be done. Severus liked everyone working there, but they were a bit too cheerful for his taste and they had made it their mission to 'cheer him up' as well. Severus knew they didn't mean any harm, but it was still irritating. They teased him all the time and cracked up every time he glared at them. Dan was the worst one. He kept calling him 'Steve' just to annoy him. Eventually the others had started to do the same.

The first few days Severus had been working at the storage, cleaning and arranging the bottles, which involved a lot of heavy lifting. That wasn't much different from what he did at the mill. He had also gotten some training from Dan himself. He had learned everything quickly and in a week had become the new bartender.

Severus had the evening shift since Dan didn't think he was up to handling the late time drinkers. He woke up early in the morning to clean up and prepare the room for the opening. That was Severus' favorite part of the day, since it was perfectly quiet and he could have a moment alone. By the time he finished up, breakfast was ready. He ate with the others in the back and went upstairs to study till afternoon. He usually had time for a quick nap before his shift, which started at five. Mixing cocktails and preparing drinks was actually kind of fun, the hard part for Severus was interacting with the customers. He was supposed to engage them and make sure they had everything they needed, while focusing on the drinks and taking orders. Frankly, he thought he was doing a terrible job. Interacting with people had never been his strong suit. Dan on the other hand, said he was doing great, that his 'natural charisma' made up for the lack of small talk.

All in all, Severus liked his job. Dan was a fair boss. He worked them hard but paid them well. The tips were also good this time of year. Everyone was looking forward to New Year's Eve. Apparently the place would be packed with customers and tips would get more generous.

...

Sirius was playing exploding snaps with his friends in James' room. It was his first Christmas away from his family. He didn't want to admit it, but he missed them. Sirius had never liked celebrating Christmas. There were always endless parties full of pretentious people and he was forced to spend time with his cousins. They always got into fights and Sirius ended up getting the blame. As dreadful as things were at home, he didn't feel that out of place there.

James' parents were nice and warm. They did their best to make him feel welcomed, but he couldn't help but feel like an intruder in their home. It had been fun in the summer, but now things were tense between James and him. It had started from the Hogsmeade weekend. James was still mad at him and kept dropping hints that Sirius had not apologized for ditching them and then storming out in the middle of the conversation that night. Sirius kept ignoring him.

He had wanted to stay at Hogwarts but James would have none of it. Sirius was planning to go out on New Year's Eve, though. He knew a muggle bar near Grimmauld place in London and he wanted to go there. He had spotted the bar when he was younger, he would sit nearby and watch the muggles sitting inside through the glass doors. He had been really excited when he was finally allowed to go inside when he was sixteen, the summer before his fifth year. They wouldn't sell him alcohol, but there were a couple of pool tables there. He had gotten some girls to teach him and he was pretty good at it.

Sirius looked up from his cards and took a deep breath, bracing himself. "Guys, there's this really cool muggle bar in London I want to go to. Are you coming?" he said.

"Muggle bar? You mean with muggle drinks and stuff?" asked Remus, curiously.

"Yeah, and there's this game they play. It's called billiards. And there's girls and really cool music." explained Sirius.

"There are girls there? You think they'd make out with us?"

James snorted. "They won't be making out with you, Wormtail." he said.

Sirius tried to change the subject. "So? You guys are coming or not?"

"I'm in. when are we going?" asked Remus.

"I've always wanted to go on New Year's Eve. There's all this decorations and special cocktails and they're open until morning."

"New Year's Eve? But we have to stay home, Padfoot. My mom's cooking dinner and we sit by the fireplace for dessert. Can't you go some other time?"

Sirius looked down. "I really don't want to do a family thing this year. It's hard you know, being away from home." he said quietly.

James frowned. "I thought you didn't want to be around those people anymore. They're a bunch of Slytherins and dark wizards."

"I know that!" snapped Sirius, balling his hands into fists. "I'm not saying I want to go back. I just can't stay here for New Year's."

"You do what you want! I'm staying home." retorted James.

"I can't go either, my mom won't let me." said Peter.

"I'll go. It sounds fun." declared Remus. James glared at him but Remus was avoiding his gaze.

...

Sirius flooed to London and met Remus near Diagon alley. They took a cap from there. After a few minutes Remus cleared his throat. "Sirius? Don't be upset with James. What he said the other day about your family was out of line, but he doesn't mean anything by it. James's a good friend, he just doesn't always think about what he's saying."

Sirius huffed. "James doesn't think about anyone but himself and I'm sick of it." Remus didn't say anything just kept looking out the window. Sirius sighed. "Sorry, Remy. Look, we're there. Let's just try and have a good time tonight.".

They went inside together. There were light bulbs and ornaments everywhere and most of the tables were full. "This is so cool! Look at all the girls." exclaimed Remus in awe.

Sirius grinned. "What did I tell you? Come on, let's go get a drink." he suggested.

They made their way to the counter. As they saw the bar tender, both of them froze. "Is that …?" asked Remus.

Sirius blinked a few times. It was Severus Snape! Wearing muggle clothes. He had pulled his hair back in a ponytail, the way he did in potion class, and was moving around pouring drinks. "Yeah." Sirius answered lamely.

Remus dragged him to the side. "What the hell is that git doing here? He's a Death Eater! He wasn't at school the last week of classes, you know. Maybe he's planning something. Do you think we should tell someone?"

"He's not a Death Eater!" snapped Sirius. He didn't know why Snape hadn't been at school but whatever it was the teachers knew about it. "Look, Death Eaters don't hang around muggles. They think muggles are beneath them. He wouldn't be working here if he was like that." he explained.

Remus frowned, looking confused. "But James is always saying he's one of them. His friends all hate muggles and he knows all those dark curses."

"Maybe his friends hate muggles but he obviously doesn't. James only says those things because he's in Slytherin." answered Sirius.

"But Slytherins are all dark wizards!"

"That's not true, Moony. My whole family are Slytherins, but they're not all evil. You know, James' mother is a Black and she's not dark. And there's my cousin Andromeda, she married a muggle-born and my uncle Alphard, he doesn't hate muggles either." Sirius took a deep breath. "Let's just go get our drinks, alright?" he added.

Remus nodded. Sirius straightened his leather jacket and ran a hand through his hair as they approached the counter again. Snape was filling glasses with beer and putting them on a tray. He kept looking their way every few seconds and glare at them through his dark lashes. He poured a glass of scotch for another customer and finally came over to where they were standing. He gave them a dark look. "What do you want? If you're here to make trouble, I'll have you thrown out." he said defiantly.

"YOU are going to throw US out?" retorted Remus, moving closer to the counter.

Sirius pulled him back. "Stop it, Remus! He's the bartender. He can throw us out if he wants." he hissed at his friend.

"Hey, Steve. Are they bothering you? You want me to go get Dan?" asked one of the waiters.

Remus opened his mouth to say something but Sirius didn't let him talk. "No, Sorry. We didn't mean to bother anyone. We just want to get a drink, that's all." he said quickly.

The waiter turned to Snape and raised an eyebrow. "Steve?"

The boy took a deep breath. "It's fine, Lucas." he said calmly and put a menu in front of them. "I'm not giving you anything with alcohol. Let me know when you decide." With that Snape moved away.

Sirius watch him go, then picked up the menu. "Steve?!" whispered Remus. "If he's not up to anything, why isn't he using his real name?" he asked.

Sirius frowned thoughtfully. "Well, I guess his name's too unusual for muggles. You know Sirius and Remus are pretty unusual, too. Not like James and Peter." he explained.

Remus didn't look convinced but didn't say anything else. They decided to try a cocktail. Sirius chose a Pineapple drink and Remus ordered one with cocoa and cream. After that things went more smoothly. They met two girls about their age and sat with them at the back of the room. Sirius used every opportunity he could find to get to the counter and watch Snape work. He ordered all of their drinks and stood there on his to the bathroom.

He had missed the boy. Snape kept shooting glares at him but for the most part he was focused on his work, which made him look attractive. The T-shirt and jeans suited him better than robes, Sirius decided, he looked amazing in those jeans. It was around ten when Snape started to tidy up and put the bottles back in their original places. Sirius realized the boy's shift was about to be over. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. A few minutes later a man came in through the back with a girl in toe. He put his arm around Snape's shoulders. "Leave it, Steve." he said, taking the bottle from the boy's hand and putting it on the counter. "Come one, Thomas says you play pool. Let's see how good you are." he continued.

Snape tried to free himself from the man's grip. "Look, Dan. It's late. I should just …"

"I know you're tired but it's New years' Eve. You're staying till midnight, at least." He turned to the girl who was settling behind the counter. "Give us a couple of beers, would you Janet?"

After they got their drinks, 'Dan' dragged Snape to the corner of the room, where the pool tables were located. Sirius got a beer for himself and followed them, grinning.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: New Year

Summary: Severus plays pool with Sirius.

Severus frowned when he saw Black followed them to the pool table. The boy had been keeping an eye on him all night, it was really annoying. Dan handed him a stick. "Here you go, lad. Now, show us what you've got." he said.

Severus sighed. He wasn't really in the mood, but he knew Dan wouldn't leave him alone unless he played. Suddenly Black stepped forward and chose a stick for himself. "I'll play. I bet I could beat you." he said cheekily.

"Do you?" snapped Severus, getting more annoyed by the minute.

"Yeah, totally. You want to make it more interesting? How about if I win, you give me any drink I want for the rest of the night?" added Black.

As annoyed as Severus was he didn't want to back down. Black and his friends always ambushed him and lately all he had done was running away. He looked at Dan, questioningly. The man just shrugged. Severus noticed one of the waiters had come over and was looking at him expectedly, Lupin was standing there as well with a couple of girls. He squared his shoulders. "Alright. But when I win, you're going to stop talking for the rest of the night." he said confidently.

Black grinned in answer and set up the table, then gestured for Severus to start. Severus narrowed his eyes, but came closer and shoot the cue ball, he stood aside for a second to study the lay out and then started the game. He managed to shoot a couple of balls in the pockets. Black grinned again. "Not bad." he said, with a friendly tone in his voice. Severus ignored him and tried to focus on the game.

They played for a while. A small crowd had formed around them, cheering them on. They were mostly rooting for Severus. Black wasn't bad but he always went for the most showy shots, while Severus analyzed the table and chose the easiest ones. Black had fallen behind from the beginning but he didn't seem to care. It looked like he was really enjoying himself. Severus won the first two games, their scores were equal in the third one. The game was finally over when Severus won the fourth round. Black gave him one of his cheeky smiles and opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it with a smirk, remembering their bet. Before Severus had time to react, Black reached over and shook his hand. The handshake went on more than it was necessary.

Severus couldn't understand how the other boy could be in such a good mood after losing like that. When Dan challenged him to another game, he accepted gratefully. He stepped up to the other table and tried to ignore the fact that Black was still staring at him.

...

Sirius couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun. He had spent the last few weeks obsessing over Severus and now he got to play pool with him. He was thinking of the boy as Severus now. He had never felt so connected to another person. Everyone always made fun of him for liking muggle things. His friends didn't make fun of him but they didn't really understand his fascination, either. Severus was really good at pools. He was surprised when they got equal scores in the third game. The boy's face lightened up every time he scored and he blushed when people cheered him on.

When Severus went over to the other table, Remus and their dates stepped closer. They taught Remus a few shots and started a game, two on two. It wasn't in any way as fun as playing with Severus, though. Sirius snuck a look at the boy every once in a while, but tried to keep it discreet.

Before long it was close to midnight. Severus went behind the counter to help pour the drinks. Most people had a glass of champagne in their hands when the countdown started. Sirius' date kissed him enthusiastically as they announced midnight in the telly. He returned the kiss half- heartedly and turned to look at Severus. The boy was looking at his shoes. He brought his hand up to wipe at his face. 'He's crying' Sirius realized. He frowned. The boy had looked happy a moment ago. Sirius ached to reach over and comfort him. He watched as Dan patted Severus on the back as he talked to him. Then one of the waitresses came over and gave him a hug. Severus wiped his face again and nodded at them.

Sirius waited few minutes before moving to the counter. As he got closer, he tried to get a better look. Severus was standing in a corner. He wasn't crying anymore but still looked grim. Sirius could see he wasn't serving, but turned to him with a grin. "Two beers." he said cheerfully.

Severus rolled his eyes. "I thought you were supposed to stop talking."

Sirius shrugged, still smiling. "You said I had to be quiet all night. It's past midnight." he commented.

A moment later, Severus put the beer mugs on a tray. Sirius paid for the drinks, then put a 20 pound bill on the counter. Severus narrowed his eyes. "What's this?" he snapped.

"It's your tip" Sirius answered with another shrug.

"That's too much." the boy said, pushing the bill back towards him.

Sirius wanted to protest, but at that moment Dan came over. He picked up the bill and pushed it in Severus' pocket. "It's not polite to give back your tips." he said sternly. "It's a little crowded, why don't you go help Janet?" he continued as he put a hand on Severus' back and guided him to the other side. He turned his head and winked at Sirius over his shoulder. Sirius grinned in response.

All too soon, Severus disappeared in the back. Sirius found Remus and they took a cab back to Diagon alley, chatting about the bar and the girls all the way there.

...

Severus woke up feeling safe and warm. Someone was caressing his hair lovingly. He opened his eyes half way and saw a woman with black eyes smiling down at him. "Mom?" he whispered hopefully.

The woman pulled her hand back. "It's ... It's Mrs. Johnson, dear." she said hesitantly. "I'm sorry. I ... I didn't mean to wake you up like that. I'm sorry."

"It's OK Mrs. Johnson. It's good to see you." answered Severus, trying to be reassuring. He swallowed his disappointment and sat up, rubbing at his eyes. Mrs. Johnson looked upset.

"Happy new year." said Severus with a smile.

She smiled back "Happy new year, Severus." Her tension seemed to lessen. "Tomas and I wanted to be with you on new year's Eve, but we knew you were working, so we came today instead.

"Thank you for coming. It would be nice to have the bar to ourselves." answered Severus sincerely.

Mr. Johnson perked up. "I've made a special breakfast. Dan and Thomas are downstairs. Why don't you change and meet us there?"

Severus nodded in response and went to the washroom. As he was about to go down, he remembered the sweets he had bought at Honeydukes and took them with him.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: The Train Ride

Summary: Severus and Sirius take the train to Hogwarts with their friends.

Severus entered Platform nine and three-quarters apprehensively. He stood there and looked around. Some of the students were saying goodbye to their families, others were laughing with their friends. Severus wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck. It was his Christmas present. Mrs. Johnson had knitted it herself. The wool was forest green and it smelled of the Johnsons' house. He exhaled deeply, taking in the sweet sent and moved to the train. He was about get in when someone called his name. It was Regulus. "Severus! I've looked everywhere for you." The boy studied him for a second. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Severus nodded in response.

"Come on, I've got a compartment." Regulus told him as he turned around to enter the train.

Severus didn't move. "You don't have to sit with me, Reg, I know you always sit with your friends." he said.

Regulus frowned, he took Severus' hand and dragged him to the compartment he had left his things in. They sat down on the bench together.

"I'm sorry about your dad." said Regulus.

Severus didn't know what to say, he nodded again and started to play with the edge of his scarf.

"Are you really OK? Evan said you were upset. I mean, I know he was a muggle, but he was still your father." continued Regulus.

Severus looked up. "I don't want to talk about it, Reg." he said.

"Oh, alright." murmured the younger boy. They were quiet for a few minutes. Suddenly Regulus remembered something, he reached into his bag and pulled out a neatly wrapped present. "I didn't get to give you your Christmas present." he said brightly.

Severus opened the gift. There were three books inside. The books looked old but elegant. Severus ran his fingers on the hard covers, a big smile forming on his lips. He started to read the titles and leafed through them. One of them was about werewolves and the other two were potion books. They all looked awfully advanced and Severus loved it. He finally tore his eyes from the books and looked up. Regulus was watching him. "Do you like them?" the boy asked with a smirk.

"They're magnificent!" Severus answered excitedly. He looked down at the books again and his face fell a little. "But I don't think I can accept them. They seem very expensive and old."

"Don't worry about it, Sev. I got them from our family vault. They were gathering dust. I would have gotten you something about the dark arts, but I'm pretty sure most of them are illegal."

"I can't take your family books. I'll give them back when I'm done reading." said Severus as he ran his fingers on the spines absentmindedly. "One day, you should put all those books in your library. It's a shame to let them get ruined."

Regulus sighed. "Alright, if you insist. But you don't have to give them back right away. You should keep them for a few years. Everything in those books looks really complicated. "

"Yeah, I haven't seen anything like them." said Severus with a grin. "Did you like the book I got you?"

"I haven't read the whole thing, but it's really interesting. I like what we learn in ancient runes at school and this is even better." answered Regulus. He took out his book from his trunk and started to show Severus the diagrams.

A few minutes later the compartment door opened. Evan came in grinning. "Hey, guys!" he said brightly and sat down in front of Severus. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Severus. I wanted to write, but Slughorn wouldn't give me your address. We had a couple of meetings last week. You missed them again." Evan continued. His eyes fell on the books on the bench. "What are you reading?" he asked.

"Regulus got those for me, for Christmas." explained Severus. He was relived at the change of topic. "And that's the ruins book I gave him. We were just looking through it."

"Oh. I didn't get you anything." said Evan, blushing. "I saved a box of fudge for you, though. You like those, right? I saw you getting some in Honeydukes."

Severus smiled. "I do like fudge." He put away his books as Evan opened the box of sweets.

...

Sirius and his friends finally found an empty compartment. As they settled down, Peter started to tell them about the New Year's Eve party he had gone to and all the amazing food they were serving. When he finished talking about the strawberry tart he had tried for dessert, he took a breath and looked at Sirius. "What about you, Padfoot? Did you have fun at that muggle bar?" he asked.

Sirius grinned. "Oh, yes. It was even cooler than I expected." he answered. James huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What was it like there?" pressed Peter curiously.

Remus was the one to answer this time. "For decoration, they had these colorful lamps that work with electricity and there were these large tables for billiards. They put small balls on them, like snitches without wings, and hit the balls with a stick." He suddenly sat up as if remembering something important. "You guys are not going to believe who we saw there."

"We met two blonde girls with short skirts. They kissed us at midnight." Sirius hurried to explain. He could feel his heart beating faster. He knew James and Peter would never let it drop if they found out Severus had been working there and Sirius didn't want to give them an excuse to harass the boy.

Peter's eyes widened. "They made out with you?"

"Muggles wear short skirts out? How short?" asked James. Interested in spite of himself.

"The skirts weren't that short. You couldn't really see their legs." answered Remus, frowning.

"Well, yeah. The girls were wearing wool socks, since it was cold, but they were pretty tight." added Sirius, his palms were starting to sweat. Remus' frown deepened.

"I wish I had come." said Peter. "Were there any food?"

"Yeah, but it was mostly drinks." answered Sirius and started to explain about different muggle cocktails and drinks. Remus was quiet during their discussion.

They eventually moved to other topics. It was a while later when the trolley-lady arrived. They each bought some candy and sat back down. James pulled a deck of cards out of his bag and started to deal. Sirius waited a few minutes then turned to Remus. "Hey, Moony. I just remembered I owe you candy. You know from the game we played, New Year's Eve." he said, looking pleadingly at his friend. He stood up and gestured for Remus to follow him. "Come on, let's go find the trolley-lady."he continued.

Remus stood up hesitantly and followed him out of the compartment. They went to the bathroom. When Sirius made sure no one was inside he turned to Remus.

"What's going on, Sirius? Why were you lying to them?" asked Remus.

Sirius took a deep breath. "I just didn't want James and Peter to find out about Snape working at that bar. Would you promise not to tell them?"

"Why not? It was pretty weird. Don't you think we should tell them?"

"Look, if we tell them it will turn into this whole thing and Snape might tell them we played pool together. James is still pissed about the whole Hogsmeade thing and he wasn't happy when I went to the bar after dinner that night. What do you think he's going to do if he finds out I was hanging out with Snape?"

Remus sighed. "I don't understand why you would play with him in the first place." he said.

Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. It was fun. So, would you promise not to tell anyone, even Peter?"

Remus nodded. "Fine, I promise. But you do owe me chocolate, now."

...

Severus was enjoying the train ride. It had been a bit awkward at first but he had relaxed considerably. The subject of the Death Eater meetings didn't come up again. They took turn playing wizarding chess as they ate fudge. They had almost reached the school when Regulus left to find his year mates.

"Checkmate!" Severus announced with a smirk.

Evan made a frustrated noise. "You're impossible to beat." he mumbled under his breath as he packed the chessboard and put it in his trunk. He then pulled out his school robes and turned to Severus. "We should get changed." he said.

Severus nodded and took out his own robes. It was a little weird to change in front of Evan. He averted his eyes as the boy started to get out of his blue robes. Severus took off his scarf and jacket but left his shirt and trousers on. In his haste to put on his robes, he pulled it over his head like a sweater instead of unbuttoning it and he got stuck. He tried to free himself but it only got worst. A moment later Evan was by his side, chuckling. The boy pulled Severus' hands gently away and unbuttoned the robe, then straightened it around his shoulders.

Severus' cheeks were burning with embarrassment. He dropped his eyes and started to play with the cuff of his sleeve. Evan put a finger under his chin to make him look up, then leaned over and kissed him. He pulled back a little and looked Severus in the eyes. "You look so cute when you're nervous." he whispered.

Severus stared at those brown eyes. He found no mirth in them.

Evan put his arms around Severus' waist and kissed him again. Severus relaxed and parted his lips. They stood there kissing for a few minutes. Suddenly the train stopped. They could hear the students rushing out of their compartments as they parted. Severus ran a hand through his hair and tidied up his clothes. Evan did the same. The two of them left the train holding hands.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter: Flying

Summary: Severus celebrates his seventeenth birthday with Evan.

Severus was having a tough week. It was hard for him to get back to his routine like nothing had happened, considering how often his housemates talked about his father. They kept telling him how lucky he was to be rid of the filthy muggle, that his mother should have done something about the man a long time ago. Avery had even asked him if it had been his own doing, if he had corrected his mother's mistakes with a potion. Most of them blamed him for missing the Death Eater meetings because of his worthless father's death. The worst part was that he couldn't tell them off or hex them for talking about his dad like that. It was eating him up.

Severus felt lonely. It was nice to have Regulus and Evan as his friends, but none of them were in the same class as him. Evan hadn't kissed him since that day on the train and Severus didn't have the nerve to make a move. It was Saturday morning when Evan finally approached him. Severus was sprawled on his bed, working on a charms essay when Evan came in his dorm room grinning from ear to ear and sat down next to him on the bed. Severus noticed he was holding something behind his back. "I've got you something for your birthday. I know it's on Tuesday, but you're always busy during the week, so I thought we could do this today." he said.

Severus' eyebrows shot up. "My birthday? How did you know when it was?"

"I asked Lucius Malfoy when I saw him in a meeting. Anyway, here!" said Evan holding out a racing broom to him.

Severus blinked a few times. "You're giving me your own broom?"

"I've got a new one for Christmas." answered Evan as he put the broom in Severus' hands, still grinning.

Severus looked down at the shiny dark wood for a second. "Well, thanks. But ... I don't really like flying and I'm not any good on a broom."

"I know. That's why I'm going to teach you. You'd be a total pro by the time I'm done with you. Maybe you can join the quiditch team. You've already got the muscles." said Evan with a wink.

"Oh, no." exclaimed Severus, his eyes widening. "I've fallen down the broom enough times, first year. I'm not going through that again."

"Come on, Sev. I'll be there. I won't let you fall. Promise." said the older boy, pulling Severus to his feet and picking up the broom.

"I've got homework and the library is going to be open in half an hour." protested Severus.

"It's your birthday. You're taking the day off." answered Evan firmly as he dragged him to the door. He picked up his new broom from where it was leaning on the wall and handed Severus the other one. Severus sighed as he followed the Slytherin chaser to the quidditch pitch, preparing for the worst.

...

Severus was nervous. He could vividly remember how he had broken his arm in his first flying lesson. He had been busy watching Lily, like he always did back then, enjoying the excited look on her face. Potter had flown right past him and he had fallen off of his broom.

Severus hadn't been able to control his broom since that day. He had been too nervous and he always ended up stuck with the crappiest school broom. The marauders made sure of that. Black and Potter would block his way while Lupin and Pettigrew each picked an extra broom for their friends. Severus had asked Lily to do the same for him but she had refused, claiming that it wasn't fair for her to take two brooms.

Severus rubbed at his arm absentmindedly as he mounted the broom. He grabbed the broom handle till his knuckles went white and closed his eyes tight as he pushed himself up in the sky. He jumped and almost fell down as Evan put a hand on his shoulder. "Easy, you've got this. Just keep your eyes open." said Evan as he urged Severus to loosen his grip on the broom handle. "Take a deep breath. That's it! I'm going to fly right next to you, so just follow my lead and you'll be fine." he continued.

Severus tried to relax as they started to move in a straight line. True to his word, Evan stayed by his side and kept an eye on him. Using a broom of good quality sure made a difference. This broom did what it was supposed to do, instead of going out of control with the smallest movement. After a while they started to circle the pitch and Severus forgot why he had been dreading this. He didn't even notice when they flew higher.

They continued flying until the sun reached the middle of the sky. Finally, Evan tilted his broom handle and Severus followed his lead. They both landed softly on the grass. Severus was glowing with excitement. "I did it! I can't believe I was flying!" he said with a big smile on his face. Before he had time to think things through, he leaned over and kissed the older boy. Evan didn't let him pull away. He put his arms around Severus' shoulders and deepened the kiss. They stood there for want felt like hours, holding each other and kissing. They parted suddenly when they heard a wolf whistle. Severus' eyes widened as he saw the whole Gryffindor quidditch team and some of their other housemates standing in front of them. He spotted the marauders, they all looked dumbfounded.

"As much as we enjoyed watching you two make out, we've got practice and snakes are not allowed." announced the Gryffindor keeper with a smirk.

Severus felt Evan tensing by his side. He put a hand on the boy's arm. "Let's just go. I don't want to let them ruin our day." he whispered.

Evan nodded. When they picked up their brooms, he put an arm around Severus's waist and guided him to the castle.

...

Sirius couldn't focus on practice. He kept beating the buldgers in the wrong direction, the whole time. He couldn't stop the images that kept replaying in his mind, Evan Rosier making out with Severus and putting his arm around the boy's waist as they walked away. They both had been holding brooms. As bad as Severus was at flying, Sirius could picture the two of the flying side by side. That thought made him feel sick.

It took forever, but the practice was finally over. Sirius changed as fast as he could and was on his way to get inside, when Remus suddenly appeared in front of him. "We need to talk." he said.

"I'm tired, Moony. Can't it wait?" answered Sirius with a sigh.

"It's about Snape." hissed Remus, he looked crossed. Sirius nodded and followed his friend behind the greenhouses.

"You like him, don't you?" accused Remus as soon as they made sure no one else was around.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." answered Sirius, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Don't give me that! I'm not an idiot, Sirius. I've seen the way you look at him. That's why you were practically glued to his side on New Year's. I thought you were keeping an eye on him, but now I know better. You kissed him on Halloween and then lied to us about it."

Sirius didn't know what to say. He just looked away.

"It's true, then?" asked Remus, he was getting more annoyed with every second that passed. "You can be with anyone you want, Sirius. Half the school are pining after you! Why the hell would you go after that ..."

"That what? What has he ever done to offend you? He's always sitting in a corner, doing his own thing. We're the ones that bother him."

"That's not the point! He's our enemy. If you go after him, you'll destroy our friendship. We're the marauders, we're supposed to stay friends forever. You're going to ruin everything!" Remus was shaking. Sirius had never seen him this upset.

"I want to stay friends as much as you do, Remy. But that doesn't mean I'll let you decide who I can or can't go out with. School is going to be over soon and all of you are going to go about your own life. Don't tell me you don't have plans for your future."

Remus laughed bitterly. "You think I can plan for my future? I'm lucky I got the chance to go to school. I'll never find a decent job and I can never get married. Hell! My own family can't wait to be rid of me. You guys are all I've got! You and James are the reason we are friends, Peter and I are just tag alongs. Once you and James split up, you're all going to forget about me." Remus was yelling now, tears of frustration were running down his face.

"You're not a tag along, Remus. You're one of my best friends. I don't know about James and Peter, but no matter what happens you'll always be my friend." said Sirius. He could see Remus wasn't convinced. "I swear on my magic." he added firmly. He pulled his friend in a hug and let him cry on his shoulder.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: The Day After

Summary: Severus and Evan take their relationship to the next level.

Severus and Evan spent the rest of the day together. They had lunch at the great hall and went for a walk afterwards. They made out behind the greenhouses and had a picnic by the lake in the evening. Evan talked about quidditch for the most part and Severus did his best to take the information in. He had read up on quidditch before coming to Hogwarts, but had lost interest after his first flying lesson.

They stayed by the lack until it started to get dark. Severus was freezing by then. He couldn't get inside quick enough. It had started to snow and his thin cloak wasn't all that warm. He practically ran to the fire place when they got inside the common room. There were only a few people there, since it was dinner time. Evan sat next to him and pulled him in his arms. "Merlin! You're ice cold. Why didn't you say anything?" he whispered.

Severus didn't answer. He snuggled closer to his boyfriend and put his head on his broad chest.

Severus closed his eyes for a few seconds. His eyes snapped open as he felt something hard against his thigh. Evan shifted a bit. "Are you warm, now?" he asked, his voice shaking. Severus nodded against his chest.

"You want to go to my room or yours?"

Severus looked up and stared in Evan's brown eyes for a second. "Mine." he whispered back.

...

Severus woke up early. He smiled as he saw Evan's peaceful face. He got out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. Severus figured Evan wouldn't get up any time soon, but he didn't want to go running in case he did. He did his pushups, put on a pair of trousers and a T-shirt then climbed back to bed. Evan was still sound sleep.

Severus finished his charms essay, then pick up the book on werewolves that Regulus had given him. The book was truly fascinating. It had been written at a time when werewolf packs lived in small villages all around England. The writer had spent years studying their life style and culture. Severus had decided to use several notebooks to take notes. He read each chapter a few times, and each time made notes from a different perspective, from herbs and magical plants they used to their hunting habits, healing remedies and diet. He was planning to do farther research on each topic in the library.

Severus had just finished up when he felt the bed move. He turned his head and smiled when he saw Evan's eyes open. "Good morning." he whispered cheerfully.

Evan rubbed at his eyes. "Morning." He murmured. He sat up and leaned against the headboard. "You've got tea?" he asked.

Severus looked down at his mug. "It's coffee. I could make you some later if you want. I only have one mug."

Evan shrugged "We could share." he proposed with a smile.

Severus hesitated for a second then handed the mug to his boyfriend. He picked up the box of shortbread from the night stand and put it on the bed between them. They sat there sipping coffee for a few minutes. Severus could hear his roommates waking up and moving about the room. "You were studying?" asked Evan suddenly, pointing to Severus' books and quill on the nightstand. "I don't understand why you care about school so much when there are more important things. You should focus on making connections. The meetings we attend, they give you the opportunity to put your face out there."

Severus sighed. "It's not about school. I'll be graduating next year and I really want to get a Mastery. I don't have that many options, I need to work hard."

"You have more options than you think. Now that your father is gone, your mother can get back to the pureblood society. She's a Prince, right? The Princes are very influential. They may not accept you as part of the family, but you will have their support." explained Evan. Severus didn't say anything, he kept staring at the empty mug in his hands.

"Severus?" asked Evan, frowning.

"My mother's gone. She left last year." he said quietly, a lump forming in his throat.

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know. I was at school. She was really sick the last time I saw her." answered Severus quietly. He filled the mug again and leaned against Evan' shoulder as he took a sip. Evan put his arms around him.

...

"Oh, god! I think I'm going to be sick." whined James as the marauders entered their dorm room. "First, they make out at the quidditch pitch right before our practice, now they're doing it at dinner. The little bastard's messing with us!" he continued as he dropped on his bed.

"I thought you said Snivellus wanted to get Lily back, Prongs. Why is he going around kissing a boy?" asked Peter pensively.

James huffed. "Obviously, he had finally gotten the message that Lily doesn't want to have anything to do with him. Now, the greasy git is just trying to get under our skin."

"Give it a rest, James! Why do you care if he's making out with someone? People do it all the time." snapped Sirius. He was fed off enough after seeing Severus and Rosier kiss, he didn't have the patience for James' banter.

James stared at him disbelievingly. "That slime ball's not like everyone else. The git lives to annoy us. I first thought someone was playing a prank on him, when he went on a date but he's obviously doing this to pull one on us. I swear we're going to get him this time!"

"Yeah, we'll show him." said Peter excitedly.

"No, we're not! We won't be doing anything." said Sirius firmly. "It's about time you guys grew up." he continued. James's eyes widened in surprise.

"I'm with Sirius. This whole thing with Snape is getting old. He hasn't pulled anything on us all year. We should just leave him alone." It was Remus who spoke up. His friends stared at him in shock.

"What do you mean he hasn't pulled anything? Him existing is enough. Now, he's in our face making out wherever we go." snapped James. His eyes were flashing with annoyance.

Remus shrugged and dropped his eyes to his hands. "We're sixth years, now. We need to focus on our NEWTs." he said quietly.

James and Peter groaned at that. "McGonagall is on our case as it is. We don't need you nagging at us, Moony." said James.

"Isn't Evans always telling you to grow up and stop plying pranks?" asked Sirius, trying to draw the attention away from Remus.

James waved him off. "She doesn't mean it. Lily likes my humor." he said with a smirk, forgetting their argument.

"Yeah, I bet she does. But if you do as she says, she wouldn't have an excuse not to date you anymore." answered Sirius.

James went quiet for a few minutes, then started chattering about Lily. Sirius caught Remus' eyes and smiled, Remus smiled back.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Distance

Summary: Severus and Evan have a fight.

Severus and Evan spent a lot of time together. They sat in the great hall next to each other and studied in the library on the weekend along with Regulus. Severus made a schedule for Evan to help him get ready for his NEWTs and started to tutor him on potions and arithmancy. They also went flying every once in a while. Evan thought Severus new flying maneuvers, each time.

Evan spent almost every night in Severus' room. There was a lot of fooling around in bed and they made out about any chance they got. Severus had been really nervous about other people's reaction at first but after a while he realized it wasn't that big a deal. There were smirks and wolf whistles, and in case of people like Potter vomiting noises here and now but nothing too major. Severus was still a little uneasy about kissing in public but he never said anything. He knew with his busy schedule Evan didn't get to spend as much time with him as he wanted to.

It should have been the happiest time of Severus' life but there was something bothering him. Evan didn't talk about the Death Eater meetings anymore but Severus knew it was on his mind. He could sense Evan's friends were constantly talking about him. Evan was always quiet after spending time with them.

Severus felt helpless. He ached to tell his boyfriend everything. That he would rather live with muggles, working a low paying job for the rest of his life than join Voldemort. He wanted to tell him how much the dark mark hurt and how much he dreaded being tortured. But he couldn't. Evan's father was one of Lord Voldemort's most important allies and Evan was the only child. He took his responsibility as the heir to house Rosier very seriously. A lot of things could go wrong. Even if Evan kept this to himself he could end up paying for it. Severus knew he had to be honest with Evan but it seemed wrong to get the boy involved. It was a couple of months after Christmas when the topic came up again.

Severus was gathering his things for class. His roommates were all at breakfast. He looked up when he heard footsteps in the corridor. A moment later Evan came in.

"Severus, I need to talk to you." said the boy with a pensive expression.

Severus frowned. "I have defense first period, but I've got some time." he answered.

They sat on Severus' bed. Evan was quiet for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. "Look, Sev. I've been thinking." he said finally. "You should really think about attending the gatherings more often. They're important." Severus opened his mouth to protest but Evan didn't let him talk. "I know you're busy with school and your brewing but you don't have to worry about your future so much. We're going to stay together and I'll take care of you."

Severus' heart skipped a bit. He looked into Evan's eyes. Evan seemed genuine. It seemed he really wanted them to have a future together. Severus wanted to believe it but he didn't dare make assumptions. "You're the Rosier heir. You're going to marry a pureblood at some point." he said, getting the words out with difficulty.

"I know I have to get married to someone else. But that doesn't mean we can't stay together." said Evan earnestly.

Severus felt his heart breaking. "No, but it might." he answered quietly.

"Why are you so negative?!" snapped Evan.

Severus sighed. "I want to stay with you Evan, but I don't know what's going to happen ten years from now. If I don't do my best now, I might regret it." he explained.

"Is there someone else? It's Malfoy, isn't it?" asked Evan, clenching his hands into fists.

Severus looked at him in disbelief. "Lucius is my friend. You're the only one I've ever been with."

"You expect me to believe that?!"

"Believe what you want!" snapped Severus. He picked up his bag and stormed out.

...

Severus couldn't focus in class. He was relieved when the lesson was finally over, until he saw his boyfriend waiting for him in the corridor. Evan looked angrier than before. He was holding one of his hands against his chest. Severus frowned. "What happened to your hand?" he asked.

"You tell me! What the bloody hell was that on your trunk?"

"You tried to open my trunk?!" asked Severus, confused. "Did you need a book? Why didn't you wait to ask me?"

"You say there's no one else, yet you ward your trunk against me!" said Evan, accusingly.

Severus was angry now. "Get over yourself!" he snapped. "I've been warding my trunk since second year. It has nothing to do with you. I don't want people snooping around my possessions. What in Merlin's name did you want with my trunk, anyway?"

"I wanted to know what's going on in that head of yours! You're glued to your books all day long and you don't care about anything else. You're weaseling out and everyone knows it!"

Severus grit his teeth together. "You knew what I was like before you asked me out!" he hissed. Evan snorted in response.

"I'm done! I'm not talking to you when you're like this." said Severus. He turned on his heel and started to walk away. He realized people were staring at him, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Don't you walk away from me!" came Evan's angry voice. Severus didn't turn around until he heard another familiar voice.

"Leave him alone! He said he doesn't want to talk to you."

It was Black. He grabbed Evans' collar and pinned him to the wall. Evan pushed him back and they started to struggle. Everyone around them was just standing there and watching as they fought. Severus dropped his bag and ran to them. As he reached over to try and separate them, someone's elbow connected with his jaw and he fell to the ground.

"Stop it!" it was Professor Tayler. Black and Evan finally pulled apart.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves. Fighting in the corridor like savages!" snapped The Professor.

"He took out his wand." said Black. Pointing a finger at Evan. "Severus was walking away and Rosier pointed the wand at his back." A murmur of agreement came from students standing around. The Slytherins stayed quiet.

"Where is Severus?" asked Professor Tayler, suddenly. The man spotted him on the ground and help him to his feet. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed it on Severus' temple where it had hit the floor. "Hold this." he said. Severus obeyed, he hadn't realized he was bleeding. The professor then gently took his throbbing jaw in his hand and examined it, "Which one of them hit you?" he asked.

"It … It was an accident. I wanted to separate them." answered Severus quietly.

The Professor looked into his eyes for a second, then nodded. He turned around and took a look at the others. "Mr. Rosier, report to your head of house right way. Tell him to give you something for your hand. I'll deal with you later." he said firmly. Evan glanced at Severus for a second, then left.

The Professor looked at the crowd, frowning. His eyes landed on Black. "Mr. Black, take Mr. Snape to the hospital wing. The rest of you get to your classes."

"I don't need anyone coming with me." said Severus quickly.

"You do, Severus. You might have a concussion." answered the Professor sternly.

A moment later Black was at his side, holding both of their bags. The boy tried to take his hand, but Severus pulled away. They were both quiet for a while. Then Black cleared his throat. "You should dump him. He had no business going through your things." he said. There was an angry tone to his voice. Severus didn't answer.

"You shouldn't be with someone like that. You're not like them." he continued.

Severus' mouth tightened. "What is that supposed to mean?" he snapped. They had reached the hospital wing.

"You don't believe in all that crap about muggles. Those people are a bunch of psychopaths." answered Black haughtily.

Severus opened his mouth to retort, but at that moment madam Pomfrey spotted them and started to fuss. She made Severus lay on a bed as she waved her wand and then went to her office to get some potions. Black was standing next to the bed. "What are you still doing here?" asked Severus impatiently. He was not in the mood for dealing with a marauder.

"Look, I … I like you." said the boy hesitantly.

"You like me?"

"I do. I can't stop thinking about you. Let me take you on a date and I swear ..."

"Do I look like an idiot?" Severus cut him off. "You really think I believe this nonsense after what you pulled at that Halloween party? You're so full of yourself, you and your fucking friends! You think I'll ever want to go out with the likes of you, Black? You try to bloody kill me, have me ripped apart by a beast, then you strip me in front of the whole school. Now, you have the nerve to act like you're suddenly interested in me? Why don't you go fuck yourself?!" bellowed Severus. He was shaking all over, the stress of the day catching up with him. He put his head in his hands as he heard Madam Pomfrey's hurried steps approaching his bed. When he looked up, Black was gone.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Hog's Head

Summary: Regulus asks Sirius for a favor.

The school year was coming to an end. The exams were over and the students had started to relax and enjoy the final days of class with their friends. Sirius was not as cheerful. After Severus rejecting him, there was not much that could bring a smile to his lips. He didn't even care that James was no longer speaking to him. That day, after Sirius had defended Severus, they had gotten into a fight. James had demanded to know what was going on and Sirius had lost it. He told his friends everything he had been holding in, about how much he liked Severus and that he was done with pranking. All hell had broken loose after that. It was safe to say that their friendship was over. James had assumed Peter and Remus would take his side, but Remus had stuck with Sirius. So, the marauders had officially split in half, with James and Peter on one side and Sirius and Remus on the other.

Right now, Sirius' mind was on a different matter. Regulus had given him a note in passing. The note indicated that he wanted to talk to Sirius privately. They were supposed to meet in the perfects' bathroom. Sirius stopped at the door, he didn't know what to expect. The two of them had not talked in over a year. He finally whispered the password Regulus had written in his note and pushed the door open. As he stepped in, he saw his brother pacing and biting his nails. Sirius frowned. He hadn't seen his brother do that since they were children. "Reg?" he asked hesitantly.

Regulus stopped pacing and looked up. He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, then started to speak. "Do you really like him?" he asked.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Severus, Do you really like him?" repeated his brother.

"I …, Why do you want to know?" said Sirius uneasily. Regulus' nervousness was getting to him.

"He's in trouble, alright?" answered Regulus. He took another deep breath. "I overheard a couple of seventh years talking this morning. They're planning something."

Sirius' heart started to bit faster. "What's going on? What do they want with him?"

"Severus hasn't been attending the meetings. He didn't go to any of them last summer or at Christmas and with him becoming the brewing assistant and all the time he spends studying, he hasn't been active."

"What meetings?" asked Sirius, dreading the answer.

"The kind mom and dad go to." snapped Regulus. "Are you going to help him or not, Sirius?"

"Why don't you do something yourself? Isn't he your friend?" asked Sirius. He was a little pissed at his little brother.

"Because if they find out I'll be next!" hissed Regulus.

Sirius felt bile rising in his throat. "Merlin! Reg. I didn't think … Are you … Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine. Severus is the one who's in danger. I don't know what they're planning, but it can't be anything good. They're supposed to meet the Lestrange brothers in the Hog's Head at 10 tomorrow. Can you go there and find out what they're up to?"

Sirius nodded. "I'll go. I'll do anything I can to stop them. Like you said, it's better if you don't get involved." he said, determined. "Have you told Severus any of this?"

"No, I didn't and I'm not going to. It's better if he doesn't know. He might do something stupid."

"Alright. I guess you know him better than I do." said Sirius, he dropped his eyes. "Look, Reg. I know we haven't talked in a while but if you ever need help or …." he trailed off.

"I might take you up on that. You'd better get going." answered Regulus.

Sirius turned to leave. He was about to open the door when Regulus spoke again. "You shouldn't give up. Severus isn't easy, but if you show him you're sincere he'll come around."

Sirius didn't say anything. He opened the door and left.

Sirius had a plan. He had decided to keep Remus busy at Hogsmeade. From what Regulus had told him, he knew he couldn't have him involved. That night he asked one of the fifth year girls to go out with Remus, promising to hook up with her the following day. He also took James' invisibility cloak. James was too distracted to notice. He was going to Hogsmeade with Lily. Apparently Evans had finally given in after seeing James' 'mature' behavior.

The next morning, Sirius got to the Hog's Head early. It wasn't that hard to sneak in under the invisibility cloak, he had done it enough times in the past. Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange came first. Soon after a few of the Slytherin seventh years arrived. Evan Rosier was amongst them. Sirius waited a few minutes before getting close to their table.

"... the night before the train ride." Rabastan was saying. "This way, no one will notice he's missing. Leave him at edge of the wards, near the road to Hogsmeade. We'll collect him before morning. Remember, if you see someone looking for him on the train distract them. Don't tell anyone about this, not even people on our side."

"What is going to happen to him?" asked Rosier in a small voice. One of his friends snorted.

Rodolphus rolled his eyes. "It's been decided that he should take the mark. We'll do it right away. He'll have the whole summer to prove himself. He's seventeen, so he'll probably be doing field work since he can use magic and knows how to apparate. What happens next is up to him." he explained, somewhat impatiently.

"Why can't we just ask him to come?" asked Rosier again. He sounded desperate.

"You've had months to talk to him, Evan. We're not taking any more chances. Receiving the mark is an honor. If he's loyal, like you say he is, he'll be grateful for the opportunity." It was Rabastan, the elder brother who answered.

"I want your word that nobody would hurt him." said Rosier firmly, a threatening tone to his voice.

Rabastan huffed. "Fine! You have my word. Just remember Evan, if you screw up your father and the dark Lord are both going to hear of it and none of them will be happy with you." he said.

Rosier gave a nod in response. They talked a bit more after that as they sipped their drinks and eventually left.

Sirius sat there under the invisibility cloak for a while. His mind was whirling. It had been hard to stay still and keep his cover, but he knew he had to be smart about this. These people were dangerous. He knew he couldn't stop them on his own and he couldn't trust James and Peter not to get Severus in trouble even if they agreed to help. Remus was trustworthy, but the two of them couldn't take out that many people.

The logical solution was to tell a teacher. Sirius didn't want to do that, though. The teacher would no doubt go to Dumbledore. The headmaster had always been kind to him, but Sirius knew from experience that the man didn't like Severus and never trusted his word. There was only one person that Sirius could trust with this and that person was James' father. Mr. Potter was the head Auror. He had the man power and the will to stop these boys. He was also a kind and understanding man. He wouldn't let Severus get hurt, Sirius was sure of it. Decision made, Sirius left the pub. He needed to find a private floo and call Mr. Potter.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Interrogation

Summary: Severus is being questioned at the ministry.

Severus was exhausted. He had had a tough night. He had woken up bound and blindfolded as Evan and his friends carried him outside of the castle. He had recognized them immediately. They had left him there under an immobilizing charm. The charm had been a strong one. Severus had not been able to throw it off, no matter how much he struggled and it had lasted a few hours. He had just fallen asleep when the dueling started. It had been one of the scariest moments of his life.

Right now he was sitting in a room at the ministry's Auror department. He looked up as a door appeared in the wall and four Aurors entered the room. He realized that two of them were of higher rank. One of the other two was a guard and the other was a secretary. They sat down in front of him on the table. The two with higher ranks sat in middle. Severus shivered as he saw their intense gaze. He wrapped the blanket they had given him tighter around himself as he coughed. He had spent the night outside in his night clothes and he was feeling a little sick. One of the men with brown hair and hazel eyes frowned, he turned to the guard. "Go get him a pepper up potion and a cup of tea. Also, find another blanket with a warming charm." he ordered.

After the guard left, the man turned to Severus. "I am Fleamont Potter, head of the Auro department. This is my colleague Alastor Moody." the man explained. "We need to ask you some questions about what happened. Do you have any questions for us before we start?" he continued.

Severus frowned. He didn't know what to make of these men. He had a ton of questions, but one was nagging at him. "Do you …" he started to say, but his throat was dry, he cleared it and asked again. "Do you have my wand?"

The men seemed taken aback. They shared a quick look. "It was in a box next to your trunk, right there on the ground with you." said Moody. "Now, give us your full name for the record."

Severus took a deep breath. "Severus Tobias Snape." he said.

"Are you a student at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, sixth year Slytherin."

"How did you get to the school grounds?"

Severus paused for a second. "When I woke up, someone had bound me and they dragged me outside and left me there. I think they casted an immobilizing charm on me before leaving."

"Who are 'they'?"

"I don't know. I was blindfolded. I couldn't see anything and they didn't talk."

Moody threw him a look and Potter leaned back in his chair. "They were your housemates. Surely you recognized at least a couple of them." asked Mr. Potter.

Severus shrugged. "I didn't say they were my housemates." he said.

"Then who?" asked Moody.

"Like I said, I don't know."

At that moment the guard came back. He put a tray on the table, then handed Severus a blanket. "Thank you." murmured Severus. He put the other blanket on his legs and rapped himself in the one with the warming charm. He relaxed as the warmth surrounded his aching muscles. Moody and Potter were studying his every move.

"You were at your dorm before this happened, were you not?" asked Mr. Potter.

"Yes, sir. I was."

"Who else could have gotten to you there except your housemates?"

Severus shrugged again. "Anyone with the password to the common room." he answered.

"Don't you think someone would have seen them? You share your room with three other boys, wouldn't they have stopped them or informed your head of house if it was someone from outside of your house?" asked Moody impatiently.

"I can't say. But I myself didn't wake up until later. I remember they were moving me up the stairs when I did." Severus answered. He coughed again. Mr. Potter handed him the vial sitting on the tray and poured him some tea.

Severus held out the vial in front of him. The color was a bit off. He took off the cork and sniffed. Moody snorted. "It aint poison, lad." he said.

"No, but if it was overheated a few more degrees it would have been." answered Severus as he drank the concoction.

Moody snorted again. Mr. Potter had a bemused look on his face. He picked up a file from the table and leafed through it. "Your school file says you are Professor Slughorn's brewing assistant. Your OWL results are perfect and you have been on top of your class since your first year." he said, studying Severus' expression carefully. "A lot of people would want to take advantage of a sharp guy like you. Has anyone approached you? Perhaps to offer you a place in their organization?"

Severus looked at his hands for a second. Lucius had been the one to talk to him about joining the Death Eaters. The boy had always been kind and supportive. Decision made, Severus looked up. "There was this potion brewer, Master Belby. We talked at Professor Slughorn's Halloween party. He offered to help me in my future research." he said firmly.

Potter and Moody were quiet for a second. "Master Belby?" asked Moody disbelievingly.

Severus nodded in response.

"Was there anyone else?" asked Mr. Potter.

"Not really."

"I find that hard to believe." said Mr. Potter. Severus didn't respond. Potter sighed. "Why didn't you drink your tea?"

"It has calming draft in it."

"Just drink it, smart ass!" snapped Moody.

"Alastor" whispered Mr. Potter, a warning tone in his voice. Not wanting to cause any more fuss, Severus picked up his cup and drank the lukewarm liquid.

"Have you attended any meetings or gatherings of any sorts, lately?" asked Potter.

"No, sir."

"Did you meet with any of your friends last summer?"

"No. I didn't meet any of them."

"What were you doing all summer, then?" snapped Moody.

Severus swallowed. "I was working with my dad." he said quietly.

Mr. Potter frowned. He took another look at the file. "Your file says your father is a muggle and he works at a muggle operation of sorts." he asked, confused.

"Yes, it's called a mill. I worked there since the beginning of summer."

"What were you doing, working at a muggle place?" asked Moody. He seemed more curious than annoyed, now.

Severus pursed his lip. It wasn't any of their business. "I wanted to help with money." he snapped.

Mr. Potter nodded in understanding. "What about the winter holidays?"

Severus looked down and started to run his fingers at the edge of the table. "My father passed away, so I went home a week early." he said. His voice was shaking.

"My condolences." said Mr. Potter as he poured more tea in Severus' cup.

Severus nodded. "Thank you." he whispered and picked up his cup. He took a few sips before continuing. "I worked at a muggle bar in London until the school started."

"London, eh? Most of the purebloods' houses are in London. Is that why you went there?" asked Moody.

Severus' eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath before answering "My dad's friend recommended the bar. His cousin owns it. I was at the bar the whole time. I stayed at a room upstairs."

"We need to check out the information." said Potter with a sigh. He put some parchment and quill and ink in front of Severus and pushed the tray aside. "Write down the address of the bar you worked in and the name of anyone you interacted with at summer or Christmas."

Severus rubbed at his eyes tiredly and picked up the quill. He tried to write down as much as he could recall. He understood how important the information was. When he was done, he put his head on the table and stared at the wall. He could hear chairs been pulled and people walking out of the room. As the door closed, Severus closed his eyes. He jumped when Mr. Potter called his name.

The man chuckled. "Sorry, son. I wanted to speak to you alone." he said.

Severus sat up and looked at him expectedly.

"I can see that you're a decent lad and from what was in your file you're also a brilliant student. It would be a shame for you to ruin your future. These people you're defending are not your friends." he paused as if gathering his thoughts. "You didn't ask what happened last night. They didn't just leave you outside of school. They wanted to kidnap you. One of the students overheard them talking about it in Hogsmeade. We were there when a few Death Eaters dropped by to pick you up. If you don't help us arrest them, they might try again."

Severus dropped his eyes. He was angry at Evan, but he couldn't bring himself to rat him out. Before having those dreams, he had been as excited to join the dark Lord as Evan was.

"I know you're scared but you don't need to worry, son. My boy, James is in your class. I'll have him watch your back. Just tell me their names and I'll take care of the rest." continued the Auror.

Severus narrowed his eyes. He hadn't realized he was taking to James' father. The man looked too old to have a teenager son. "James Potter?! That bastard has been torturing me since first year. I wouldn't trust him with my quill, you think I'd put my life in his hands?"

Mr. Potter sighed. "I know all about the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor. We're not talking about childish pranks here, this is a serious matter. Listen, son …"

"Don't call me that!" snapped Severus. "Your son is a bloody bully. His idea of pranking is humiliating and hurting other people. You want to worry about someone, worry about him. I know you like to pretend that you're not like other purebloods, but you're still one of them. Sooner or later your heir is going to piss off the wrong people, if he hasn't done that by now, and your whole family will be paying for it." The words poured out of him before he could stop himself. Bad mouthing the head of the Auror department wasn't the smartest move, but Severus could never control his temper when it came to James Potter.

Mr. Potter gave him a dark look. All traces of compassion and concern had vanished from his features. The man stood up and stormed out. Severus folded his hands on the table and put his head down again. He fell asleep soon after.

...

Severus woke up as someone shook his shoulder. He blinked a few times and looked up. Mr. Potter was standing beside his chair. "It's almost dinner time. You should eat something." he said with a smile.

Severus rubbed at his face. He saw a plate of sandwiches and a glass of pumpkin juice on the table. "Is there a washroom here I can use?" he asked.

Mr. Potter pointed his wand to the wall and a door appeared. Severus nodded, he folded the blankets and put them on one of the chairs, then went to the washroom. When he came back, he saw the Auro was sitting at the table, looking thoughtful. Severus sat down, apprehensively. He picked up the glass and took a sip.

"Is your throat better?" asked Mr. Potter.

"Yes, sir."

"Good." said Mr. Potter with another smile. "Sorry you had to sleep like that. We were quite busy. Everything you told us checked out. They all had only good things to say about you. Especially your father's friend, Mr. Johnson and his wife." he continued as he pushed the plate of sandwiches closer to Severus.

Severus took one. He was really hungry.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier. It's not easy for any parent to hear such things about their child." said Mr. Potter, then sighed. "The school has always told us positive things. I talked to your school caretaker, Mr. Filch and he had a lot to say about James and his friends' behavior. I wanted you to know that I'm going to have a talk with him."

Severus shrugged as he reached for another sandwich. "I don't really care about that, Mr. Potter. Am I free to go, now?" he asked.

"You have been cleared of any charge and there is no evidence of you being associated with the Death Eaters. Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange were the ones that tried to kidnap you. We have them under arrest. Their trial will be held in a month, after the investigation is completed. According to the ministry protocol we need to make sure you, as the victim, are protected until the trial is over. During the investigation we discovered that your mother is no longer living with you and since your house is located in a muggle area we have decided that Headmaster Dumbledore would look after you during the summer."

"What?! You can't do this! Dumbledore hates me. I don't want to live with him."

"You'd be staying at Hogwarts, Severus. The headmaster has prepared a privet chamber for your use. Like I said, it's ministry protocol. You need to stay somewhere with magical protection. Professor Dumbledore was the only one available on short notice. I would love to offer you to stay at our house but I have a feeling you wouldn't want to live with James." explained Mr. Potter.

Severus sighed in defeat. He knew no one else that would take him. He didn't know any of his magical relatives and his friends' families were all involved with Death Eaters. He would have contacted his head of house but Professor Slughorn was out of the country. Professor Taylor couldn't help him either. The man had been hospitalized due to an accident in his class. Severus ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "When I supposed to go there?" he asked.

"We'll leave as soon as you finish your dinner." answered Mr. Potter, gently.

Severus stared at his plate for a second. He had lost his appetite. "I'm ready to go." he said quietly.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: The Lost Book

Summary: Severus starts his summer holiday at Hogwarts.

Severus sat stiffly in his chair, looking at his hands while Mr. Potter talked to Headmaster Dumbledore on the other side of the room. When the head Arour finally left, Dumbledore sat at his desk with a sigh and stared into space for a few minutes before focusing on Severus. "Mr. Potter has informed me of your situation. He tells me you weren't cooperative." he started. "As the Headmaster of this school I must insist that you tell me exactly what happened, Mr. Snape." he continued, the command in his tone was unmistakable.

"I told the Aurors everything, sir. I'm sure Mr. Potter has briefed you."

"Don't lie to me, boy. We already know your housemates were helping the Death Eaters. You will end this foolishness and tell me their names."

"You can't force me to do anything!" snapped Severus.

Dumbledore's expression darkened. "You are putting not only yourself but your fellow students in grave danger by your ignorance." he said as he gazed directly into Severus' eyes. Severus averted his eyes, he didn't need the old man intruding on his thoughts.

They were both silent for a few minutes. Dumbledore sighed. "I was hoping to reason with you, but I can see that it's pointless. You're letting your stubbornness cloud your judgment. For that you'll be serving detention for the rest of the summer." he said.

Severus almost snorted at that.

"As you know, Mr. Snape. You are to stay at Hogwarts for your safety. I have adjusted the wards, so that you could only exit the school grounds with one of the heads of houses or myself." continued the Headmaster.

Severus frowned. He wasn't happy about that, but he could see it was necessary. "Alright." he said with a nod.

"You're trunk is already in your chambers, which is in the first floor. Since there aren't that many people in the school, the house elves will be bringing your meals to your chambers." Dumbledore paused for a moment, as if trying to decide something. "You will have detention every afternoon from three to five. You are free to do what you want the rest of the day in your rooms or out in the grounds. The school is closed and I don't want you wandering the halls, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." said Severus. "What about my wand? When can I have it back?" he asked.

"I'll be holding on to your wand for now." answered the Headmaster.

"You can't do this! That's my personal property." snapped Severus.

"I am the Headmaster of this school Mr. Snape and I am responsible for your care. There's a reason we don't allow students to stay at Hogwarts during the summer. We can't allow anyone to walk around the school unsupervised. Based on your behavior during your education here, I'm afraid I can't trust you not to go looking for trouble. You can have your wand back as soon as the classes start." explained Dumbledore calmly.

"You say I'm in danger. How am I supposed to defend myself if I don't have my wand with me?" asked Severus through gritted teeth.

"As long as you're inside the wards of Hogwarts, you'd be safe." answered Dumbledore.

Severus was about to retort, but stopped himself. He knew arguing with Dumbledore would be a waste of time.

...

Living at Hogwarts wasn't that bad. It was really peaceful without all the students running around. As far as Severus could say, Hagrid was the only person that actually lived there during the summer. Even Filch was on holiday.

Severus' chambers were rather cozy. He suspected they had belonged to a former Professor. There was a bedroom, a bathroom and a small living room. The decorations didn't represent any of the four houses. The furniture were of dark wood and brown leather and the rugs and curtains were beige and light blue. The living room had a nice view of the courtyard. Severus could also see the school entrance, which was reassuring. From the window in his bedroom he could see Hagrid's hut and the edge of the forest.

As nice as Severus' chambers were, he didn't spend that much time in them. He felt like a prisoner as it was so he mostly took his books outside to study, enjoying Scotland's summer. Severus was thankful for the books Regulus had given him. They were complicated enough to keep him busy. He had already gone through the book about werewolves during the school year. Now, he was reading the potion books. Like Dumbledore had told him, the house elves brought his meals for him. When he was studying outside, the elves would deliver his food there. They even left little snacks for him in his room.

Severus served his detention in the library. He wasn't allowed there the rest of the day. Dumbledore stood at door waiting for his arrival every afternoon. He put some kind of spell on one section of the library, to limit Severus' access to the other parts. He also placed a charm on the books on the shelves to make them stay closed, so that Severus wouldn't spend his detention reading. He was instead supposed to dust the books with a rag. Dumbledore always locked him in there and left. The door would magically open at precisely five o'clock.

Dusting books wasn't really a hard task. Severus didn't mind spending his afternoon surrounded by books and had always thought the books needed more maintenance. It was none the less a boring task. On his first day Severus had written a letter to the Johnsons, explaining that he had found a job in Scotland. He had put it in a muggle envelope with a stamp and owled it to the post office at Hogsmeade for delivery. He hoped he could find a way to visit them before school started.

It was the beginning of the second week of summer holiday when finally something exciting happened. Severus was serving detention. He was at the charms section close to the restricted part of the library. As he crouched down to get to the books at the bottom, he saw something under the shelf. He frowned, he thought it could be anything from old parchment to a cursed box. He was too curious to leave there, though. He wrapped his hand in a clean rag, then reached over and pulled the item out from under the shelf. It was a thick leather bound book. Severus picked it up and read the title. His heart started beating faster. He ran a finger over the gold letters 'The Basics of Mind Magic, Form occlumency to legilimency'. He had been looking for that book his fifth year. It had been in the library all this time. Severus held his breath as he opened the book. A huge smile spread across his face. Dumbledore's charm hadn't reached under the shelves. It seemed him staying at Hogwarts was going to be worthwhile after all.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29: The Herb Garden

Summary: Severus discovers that Dumbledore has plans for him.

Severus was careful with the book he had found. He kept it in his trunk and never took it out of his chambers. He was determined to learn the skill. According to the book, there were two methods for learning mind magic. One of them was through experiencing it firsthand. In this method, one person familiar with the art would attempt to enter the other person's mind repeatedly with a spell. The general idea was that, these attacks would trigger the right part of the mind and the magical core, allowing the learner to exercise those parts and eventually be able to control them consciously. It required hard work and a strong will but most people were able to gain the ability to guard their minds against wandless intrusions. The text compared this method with accidental magic which could be triggered by emotions, but once the witch or wizard learned to channel the magic it would became a conscious task.

This method required a certain level of trust, since there was a lot of intrusion involved on both sides. Severus didn't have the luxury of having a willing trustworthy teacher who was familiar with mind magic to help him out, so he had to learn through the second method. In this method, achieving mind control was much more complicated. The witch or wizard had to learn to access the right part of the mind and the magical core without guidance and through meditation. Once that phase was done it was time for arranging thoughts and emotions and finally you would need to work out mechanisms for protecting your own mind and entering other person's. It was basically reinventing the process since no one was showing you what to do. The steps where mentioned and the description was detailed, but it was up to the learner to figure out how to execute. Based on the person' natural abilities it could take from months to years to master the skills.

At the end of each section of the book there was a list of references for clarifying each stage. Severus knew he couldn't get his hands on any of those books, so he had to make due with the information he had available. He started with meditation. At first he tried clearing his mind every night before going to bed, like the book suggested. After a couple of nights, he became pretty good at it, but he could feel he wasn't getting any closer to accessing the right part of his mind and magical core. Brewing has always helped him to concentrate, so Severus decided to try brewing some of the things he had learned from his new potions books.

The books were old and explained potions that were more basic. Those potions were much more complicated but the ingredients were easy to access. He used Slughorn's lab for brewing and gathered the ingredients he needed from the school grounds. After a while Severus started to grow some of the herbs he needed in a small garden near the forest. That was when he started to see results and moved on to the next stage. He would do the meditation exercises and afterwards he tried to organize his thoughts and block the important ones.

Severus tested his abilities every afternoon when he met Dumbledore at the library for his detention. Without fail Dumbledore would use legilimency on him to see what he had been up to. Instead of attempting to close his mind, Severus tried to focus on the memories he wanted the old man to see and buried any thoughts of his research and mind magic training. After a while he started to pick up small hints from Dumbledore's thoughts. It was really exciting to finally be able to best the old man, but Severus knew he shouldn't bring Dumbledore's attention to this development. That's why he never pushed for more.

After a few days, Severus started to get worried. He didn't know exactly what was on Dumbledore's mind but he was sure it involved him. Dumbledore was scheming. It had something to do with brewing and Hogwarts and once he picked up something about NEWTs. Things became more clear when Hagrid approached him in the middle of the summer. Evan though Hagrid was the only other person that lived at Hogwarts during the summer, Severus hadn't attempted to seek the giant out. Hagrid was harmless but he was really chummy with the marauders and Severus didn't want to hang out with someone like that.

Severus was working at his herb garden, when Hagrid started to talk to him. "You're doing a good job there." he said in a friendly voice.

"Thank you." answered Severus shortly without looking up.

The giant sat himself down before starting to talk again. "You deserve this opportunity. Everyone has been saying your potions are good." Severus frowned at that but he didn't say anything. "I started to work here when I was about your age and I've never looked back. You must be proud of yourself. It's an honor to be hired at Hogwarts" Hagrid continued.

Severus looked up at that. 'Why would Hagrid say that? What did that even mean?'. The man was close to Dumbledore. It was possible that the headmaster shared his plans with him. Severus took a deep breath. "It really is an honor." he said. "But I think I'd feel better if I knew what exactly was required of me. It's a huge responsibility." he added as he went back to his herbs.

Hagrid was quiet for a second, as if thinking it over. "Well, I think you'd just be only in charge of the brewing. At least at the beginning. The school brewer is faculty but you won't be responsible for the students. If they want you doing something else, they'd tell you." he explained.

Severus' mouth went dry. Dumbledore wanted him to become the school brewer. But he had to at least finish school for that. Is that why Dumbledore had been thinking about NEWTs? Severus took a deep breath to steady himself. "I'm still worried about my NEWTs." he said.

"Na! you shouldn't worry so much. You'd only be taking four NEWTs. Your exams will be in a couple of weeks, so you still got time to study. you just need to pass three of them, anyway." said Hagrid.

Severus nodded in response. He was feeling sick. He had to excel his NEWTs to get a scholarship for his Mastery. He wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. He had picked ten NEWTs last year and he still had a lot to learn. It seemed Dumbledore was planning for him to graduate early. Severus could perhaps study potions and defense on his own but he needed to attend classes for the rest. He had to find a way to stop this. He could never get a Mastery with four NEWTs, even if he had the money to pay for it. He waited for Hagrid to leave then gathered his things and went inside. 'Slughorn must be back from his trip, by now' he thought. He had to write to his Professor.

...

Notes: When Dumbledore told Hagrid about his plans, he didn't think Hagrid would talk to Severus. And Hagrid just assumed Severus already knew.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Taking Control

Summary: Slughorn comes up with a solution.

Severus was sitting by the lake and watching the giant squid the next morning. He was nervous and couldn't bring himself to do much. He had decided to wait for Slughorn's response before doing anything rash. He jumped as he heard the bushes on the edge of the forest move. He looked up to see a dark shape watching him with shining blue gray eyes. Severus sighed. The huge dog was around every morning. Sometimes he would chase rabbits or dig a hole. Other times he just stood there and watched him.

Severus blinked as he saw the dog walking closer. He stood up and backed up a few steps. The dog stopped and tilted his head to the side. They both stood still for a second, then the dog picked up a broken tree branch from the ground in his mouth and moved closer. Severus took another step back. The dog whined and moved more slowly. Severus held his breath as the beast put the stick down by his shoe. The dog whined again and looked up at him with hopeful eyes. The thing was huge, almost as tall as Severus himself, yet he looked harmless. "Looking for a playmate?" asked Severus. The dog barked softly and open his mouth in way that resembled a smile. Severus bent hesitantly and picked up the piece of wood. The dog barked again, bouncing with excitement. Severus threw the stick as far as he could and watched the animal running after it as if his life depended on it. Soon enough, the dog found the stick and came back. He put it down again and smiled up at him. Severus gave a small smile in response and threw the stick farther this time. They continued the game for some time.

Severus sat down as he saw a tray appear under a tree. The dog sat right next to him and put his head on his paws. Severus put a piece of chicken in front of the dog and chuckled as he saw him lap it up. The dog barked and started to shake his tail. Severus assumed he was asking for more, so he gave him a chicken leg then started on his own food.

They sat there under the tree after they ate their fill and Severus started to scratch the dog's black hair. It was around 2:20 when Severus decided to go inside. He wanted to take a shower before his detention. "I've got to go. I have detention." he told the dog. It was probably his imagination but he thought the dog frowned at that. "Dumbledore gave me detention for the whole summer. Every day at 3." said Severus with a sigh. "I had fun today. Will you come back tomorrow? It's really lonely here." he asked.

The dog barked and licked his hand. Severus chuckled. He scratched the dog behind his ears one more time, then left.

…

Severus felt as if a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders when he received Slughorn's letter. The Professor had promised to look into the matter immediately through his contacts and work on a solution. It was a week later when Slughorn came to visit him. He came at noon, sine he knew Hagrid would be eating lunch at his hut. They sat down in Severus' living room.

After Slughorn caught his breath, he turned to Severus. "Professor Dumbledore has given a request to the board of governors to make you the school brewer. Usually the Headmaster doesn't need the board's approval for hiring staff but since you haven't graduated yet, he needs their permission. He's told them based on what happened the last day of school you won't be safe at the Slytherin dorm. Right now he's trying to persuade the ministry to let you take four of your NEWTs exams so that you can be qualified for employment." explained Slughorn. He picked up a couple of sandwiches from the tray the house elves had left on the coffee table and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"How can he plan all that without even telling me? Don't I get a say in this?" asked Severus, playing with his salad nervously.

"Of course, dear boy. The Headmaster needs your signature for employing you and you can refuse to take the NEWTs early, if it comes to that." said Slughorn as he took a bite of his Sandwich. "To tell you the truth Severus, if it was anyone else I would have advised them to take the job. This is a good opportunity and it might be wise to take you out of the dorm, but you have too much potential to be limited like this." he continued.

"I really want to get a Mastery, Professor. What do you think I should do? "

"I have given this some thought. I think the best solution is to make a more agreeable arrangement ourselves." said Slughorn in a smug tone. He busied himself with his lunch for a few minutes.

Severus wiggled in his seat impatiently. "Professor?" he asked, cursing the man's antics in his mind.

"We arrange for you to become a teaching assistant. This way you'll get your own living quarters and you can still attend classes. You'll be awfully busy but I'm sure you can handle it. What do you think?" asked Slughorn.

Severus frowned, thinking it over. "I guess that would be good for my resume. Do you think Dumbledore will agree to that, sir?"

"We don't need the Headmaster's agreement, we only need a few signatures from faculty members to make a request to the board of governors. I know for a fact that the board members are reluctant to accept Professor Dumbledore's request. They think you're too young. So they'll jump right on our offer. And the Professor can't object since he has already agreed to you becoming my brewing assistant and he's trying to employ you, himself." explained Slughorn. Severus nodded. It sounded like a good plan. He felt the tension leaving his body and started to eat.

"You have my signature, of course. Dumbledore hasn't revealed his plans to the other faculty members, so it won't be hard to convince them. I think you can count on Madam Pomfrey and your arithmancy teacher, too. Professor Flitwick won't be that hard to convince, either. I was thinking you should propose to help Professor Sprout with her plants. She's been complaining that she needs help for a while. It will be more work for you but this way you'll have three heads of houses on your side." continued Slughorn, looking at Severus questioningly.

Severus shrugged. "I don't mind working at the greenhouses. But I'll need some time to myself to study. Also my class schedule is going to be busy." he said.

"Yes, I realize that. I'm just going to have you brewing and perhaps correct some of the students' homework. This way you can attend all of your classes. You can do the herbology work on weekends and perhaps check on the plants every morning. You've already stocked the infirmary so you won't have that much brewing this year. You can start on that right away, I'll send you a list and get the ingredients. It wouldn't hurt to start studying, too."

"I'm not allowed in the library and I don't have all of my books." answered Severus.

Slughorn sighed and shook his head. "I'll get your books. And I will talk to the headmaster after we get the board's approval." he said, then took out a roll of parchment out of the pocket of his robes and handed it to Severus. "Read it carefully, then signed at the bottom."

Severus read everything twice before signing. Slughorn signed after him and put the parchment back in his pocket. "I should go. I'll let you know what happens." said Slughorn with a nod, then left through the floo.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: The End of Summer

Summary: Sirius makes a decision. Severus gets his wand back.

Padfoot ran through the alleys in Hogsmeade, trying to stay out of sight. He stopped at the back of an old bakery and pawed the door open. He transfigured to his human form as soon as he was inside and climbed the stairs to the flat above the bakery. Remus and he had rented the flat together for the summer. Sirius paid the rent with the money his uncle had left him and Remus did his best to contribute to their other expenses. Sirius dropped his clothes in the laundry basket and jumped into the shower. Running around in dirt all day was fine when he was in his dog form, but as soon as he transfigured he could see how dirty he was.

After a quick shower, Sirius put some clothes on and went to the kitchen to make tea, all the while whistling. The tea was almost ready when he heard Remus come in. Remus had been working at the bakery since the beginning of summer. He had taken a couple of days off at the last fool moon, telling his employer that he was visiting his parents. They had both spent the night at the shrieking shack. They had been nervous but it worked surprisingly well. When they ran through the forbidden forest Moony always tried to get away or went chasing after Wormtail. This time they had stayed inside and once Moony realized that Padfoot wasn't a threat things had picked up. With Mooy distracted with Padfoot there and the food they had taken with them, Remus had come out of the transfiguration almost unscratched.

Sirius put the tea on the kitchen table and turned to Remus. "Hey, Remus. How was work?" he asked.

"Good. I almost burned the ginger cakes but they turned out fine." answered Remus as he put a paper bag on the table and took off his coat. "You seem in a good mood. Severus was back, then?"

"Yep!" said Sirius with a grin as he dug into the bag. He put the bread away and started to empty the cakes on a plate.

Remus washed his hands and sat at the table with a sigh. "You said he was visiting his relatives?" he asked.

"Yeah, something like that. Turns out, Dumbledore had been out of Hogwarts the whole weekend and Slughorn was supposed to supervise his detentions and stuff but he took him to his town instead." answered Sirius, biting into a cinnamon roll.

Remus frowned at that. "I though he wasn't safe outside of Hogwarts. Why would Slughorn take him out without telling Dumbledore?"

Sirius shrugged. "When I talked to James' dad, he said Severus had to stay close to someone magical to defend him if something happened. He didn't say he had to be locked in." he answered, sipping his tea. "Dumbledore's going nuts with this. Severus can't leave Hogwarts, he can't walk around in the castle, He's not even allowed in the library unless it's for detention. Dumbledore has taken his wand, too. Can you believe that?"

"That does seem a little nuts. I would want to get out, too if I were him." answered Remus. "So, did he have fun?"

"I guess he did. He was so happy today." said Sirius with another grin. "He said something about the board of governors agreeing to their request. I don't know what he meant, but it's got to be something good."

"The school starts in two weeks, Sirius. Are you going to tell him you're Padfoot?" asked Remus.

Sirius' good mood seemed to vanish. "I can't tell him, Remy. He wouldn't let me anywhere near him if he finds out. I know he's only talking to me because he thinks I'm a dog, but I like spending time with him. Severus needs me, too. He's really lonely." said Sirius, looking into his cup. "What should I do Remus? How can I prove that I really like him?"

"I don't know Padfoot." answered Remus as he played with his cake. "You can't ask him out again. He'll freak out."

"Yeah, he will. You weren't there last time. He thought I was trying to trick him. He said … he said he'll never go out with someone like me." said Sirius.

Remus shifted in his chair, uncomfortably. "You're a great guy Sirius. If Severus can't see that, then you're better off without him." he said quietly.

Sirius leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "I don't want to be with anyone else, Remus. And everything he said was true. James and I, we've done a lot of mean things to him. I can see that, now. I just wish I could make him understand." he said, exasperated.

They drank the rest of their tea quietly. Sirius sat there as Remus started to clear the table and put the dishes in the sink. "Remus? Did you like me when we first met, first year?" asked Sirius suddenly.

Remus sat back down and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know. I liked James from the beginning. He was fun and he was easy to talk to. But I was a bit intimidated by you. I could say you were rich and from an important family and you were fighting with your cousins all the time." he said sheepishly.

Sirius frowned. "So, what made you change your mind?"

"It wasn't just one thing, you know. You're a good friend. You always look after people you care about." answered Remus.

Sirius scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe if I find a way to spend time with Severus and become his friend, he'll like me." he said hopefully.

Remus smirked. "Yeah, but you should do it in human form, this time."

...

Things were falling into place for Severus. After the board of governors agreed to their request, Slughorn had announced the results in a staff meeting. He had pretended he didn't know Dumbledore had plans of his own. The Headmaster had made an excuse and had left the meeting after that, probably to talk to the board members.

The next day, Dumbledore had summoned Severus to his office for tea. He had attempted to enter Severus' mind several times. He then told him that his detentions were over and that he could walk freely around the school and use the library, since the staff members had returned and he was no longer unsupervised. Severus could say Dumbledore didn't want the other teachers to know about his crazy rules. After a long speech about responsibility and using the second chance he was presented with, the man gave him his wand back.

Severus' wand didn't feel right to him. He could sense there was some kind of spell intruding with the dragon heartstring core. He had decided not to use it until he had it checked. He was going to Diagon alley with professor Flitwick to get new robes. He had already gotten his books and potion supply. But with him growing a couple of inches in the summer, he could no longer wear his old robes. Severus looked up from his cauldron when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in." he said.

A second later Professor Flitwick appeared in the doorway. "Good morning, Severus. Are you ready to go?" he asked, cheerfully.

"I'm almost done, Professor. I'll turn it off in three minutes." answered Severus. He washed his hands and tidied up his clothes before turning off the burner.

They apparated to Diagon alley together and started to walk along the crowded street. "You said you needed robes?" asked Flitwick.

"Yes, sir. I also need to visit Mr. Ollivander's shop." answered Severus. He didn't want to do that with Flitwick there. He was trying to come up with an excuse to go to Ollivander's alone, when Flitwick guided him into one of the shops. Severus blinked a few times. He had never been inside this shop before. Several people were being measured and there were robes on display everywhere. They were at Madam Malkin's, he realized. He always got his robes from the second hand store. New robes were too expensive.

He turned to his Professor to tell him he didn't want to shop there when Madam Malkin came over to where they were standing. "Professor Flitwick, what a pleasure!" said Madam Malkin, smiling down at the short man. She then turned her attention to Severus. She frowned a little as if trying to place him. Her expression brightened again a second later. "What a handsome young man! Looking for dress robes, perhaps?" she asked.

"This is Mr. Snape. He needs new robes for school. He's growing tall as you can see, Madam." answered Flitwick.

"This way, then." she said as she pointed to a corner. Severus opened his mouth to protest but closed it again. Luckily he had brought enough money with him. Once the measurements were done he went to Ollivander's with Flitwick.

"Can you wait outside, Professor? I need to talk to Mr. Ollivander in private." said Severus nervously.

"I'm afraid I can't, Severus. I won't talk to anyone about your conversation. You have my word." answered the Professor, earnestly.

Severus nodded and went inside. He didn't have much choice. He pulled out his wand and put it on the counter. "Mr. Ollivander? I need you to test my wand for me. Someone had it for over a month and it doesn't feel quite right to me." he said.

"Thirteen inches. Ebony with a dragon heartstring core." announced the old man. He then picked up the wand and started to examine it. "Why in the world did you let someone hold on to your wand for that long, young man?" he asked.

"He already had it and he wouldn't give it back." answered Severus. He could see the realization dawning on Flitwick's face.

"I feel an intrusion. It seems to be a tracking charm. Have you used it yet?" said Ollivander.

"No, I thought I should wait."

"Good. It could have damaged the core, slightly." answered Ollivander, shaking his head. "Old man thinks he knows everything. Messing around with other people's wands." he mumbled under his breath, then sighed. "Do you want me to cancel the charm?"

"I'm not sure. He might realize I have canceled it." answered Severus, pursing his lips.

"May I take a look?" asked Flitwick. He took out his own wand and ran it over Severus'. The man's expression brightened. He pulled out a quill out of his pocket. After doing a few complicated charms on it, he pointed his wand at the ebony wood then dragged it to the quill. "There! Now the charm is on the quill." said Flitwick proudly as he gave Severus his wand back.

Severus ran his fingers over his wand. A small smile formed on his lips as he felt the familiar rush of magic spread through his hand.

"Here, take this. Keep it in your pocket and try not to misplace it." said Flitwick as he handed Severus the quill.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you so much." answered Severus. He put the quill in his pocket but held on to his wand.

"It's amazing what you can do with a few well place charms, isn't it?"

"It really is." said Severus with another smile.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: The Welcoming Feast

Summary: The welcoming feast brings a couple of surprises.

Severus sat under his favorite tree by the lake, surrounded by books. It was his last chance to study outside in peace. The welcoming feast was to take place that night. The students would be boarding the train right about now. Severus sighed as he finished his notes and leaned against the tree trunk. He was apprehensive about the new school year. He didn't know how his housemates would react to his new circumstances.

Technically, he hadn't done anything wrong. They were the ones who had attacked him after all. He doubted they would see it that way, though. They must have sensed his reluctance to participate in Death Eater activities. Evan had told him as much. They probably blamed him for the Lestrange brothers getting arrested. They had both been sentenced to ten years in Azkaban. He could imagine the Dark Lord wasn't happy about that.

He had to be careful. He had already warded his quarters and his belongings using the most complicated spells he could think of. He had also castes a few spells of his own creation. They weren't that strong but he figured they could confuse the intruders.

Severus looked up when he heard a familiar bark. He smiled as he saw his furry friend running towards him with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Hey! There you are. Look what I got." he said cheerfully. The dog stood there and watched with anticipation as he took out a package out of his bag and unwrapped it. "It's apple pie. Professor Flitwick showed me how to get in the kitchen. The house elves made it special for us, with extra cinnamon." explained Severus. He put a piece of the pie in front of the dog and chuckled as he saw his friend's enthusiasm. He picked up a flask and poured himself some coffee before digging in his own pie.

"The students are arriving this afternoon and the classes will start tomorrow. I'm going to be busy all day with classes and my work and I don't want people to know about you." said Severus after a few minutes. The dog looked up, licking his lips. Severus started to scratch the black fur. "Most people here don't like me. If they find out about you, they might try something. I don't want you to get hurt, so you should stay away from me. Do you understand?" he continued.

The dog barked in response and moved his head in a nod.

"I'm going to leave some food for you every morning next to the rabbit hole. And I just have another year of school left, you know. I'm leaving this place after that. You can … you can come with me if you want. I only have a small house and there's no garden or forest for you to run around in, so I'll understand if you decide to stay." said Severus with a sad smile. The dog stood up and leaned into him. Severus put his arms around his friend instinctively and pulled him in a hug.

...

Sirius and Remus packed their trunks and put on their school robes. They left the key on the kitchen table and started to walk to the train station. Sirius was unusually quiet that day. Remus tried to fill the silence. He talked about their classes and the girls and anything else he could think of.

Truth be told, Remus was a little nervous about seeing James and Peter. Things had been tense between them last year. Remus had tried his best to stay friends with both of them. He still sat at meals with them and helped them study. But in the end it hadn't worked out the way he wanted. James kept trying to persuade him to abandon Sirius, insisting he would come to his senses once Remus stopped defending him. Peter on the other hand seemed pleased with the new circumstances. He had become James' only friend and he was enjoying it. Whenever he was alone with Peter, the boy would tell him all the things James had said behind their backs. Remus knew Peter was trying to damage their friendship further, but he couldn't help but believe every word. It was painful to realize how little James thought of him.

Remus had decided to stop the whole charade and stick with Sirius. The summer they spent together had been perfect. Sirius was more thoughtful and considerate than the other two marauders combined. He had found a job for him and rented the flat. He had also taken good care of Moony at the nights of the full moon. For the last two years, the marauders had taken Moony out of the shack to run in the forest. That had made Remus stop hurting himself, but he was always drained after his transfigurations. With Padfoot alone there, things were much better and he had only needed one day to recover.

The train pulled to the station as Remus and Sirius got there. They put their trunks in the train to be delivered to their dorm and found a carriage. As they were about to climb in, Remus saw James, Lily and Peter getting off the train. James waved and signaled for him to come over. Remus shook his head and went inside without a backward glance. Sirius came in after him with a grin and started yammering on about James' expression.

At the great hall the two of them sat a great distance from the marauder's usual seats, ignoring the glares James was sending their way. As the sorting began, Remus felt a heavy gaze. He looked up to see the Headmaster staring down at them, his eyes filled with displeasure and disappointment. Remus dropped his eyes and turned to Sirius. His friend wasn't paying attention, though. He kept looking around the hall. "Sirius?" whispered Remus.

"Where is he? I don't see him anywhere." answered Sirius. It took a moment for Remus to realize he meant Severus. "Do you think we should tell Slughorn?"

"Don't worry Sirius. He'll show up. If he's not here by the time the sorting is done, we'll tell someone."said Remus. He started to look for the boy as well.

When the sorting was done, Remus watched McGonagall picked up the stool and the sorting hat. Suddenly he spotted Severus sitting next to Slughorn at the head table. As Sirius made to stand up, Remus took his arm and pointed to the table. They sat there dumbfounded as Dumbledore announced Severus becoming Professor Slughorn's teaching assistant.

...

Albus Dumbledore paced in his office. Things were not going as he had planned. First the Snape boy and now the Gryffindors. He had planned to keep Snape at Hogwarts. The boy was talented, but he had a weakness for dark magic. He was also stubborn and refused to listen to reason but he knew he could control the boy if he was in his care. He was determined to keep Snape from his Death Eater friends and his dark tendencies. He had even been ready to put up with the Slytherin and his ill manners, this kind of talent in potions came around but once in a century, after all. No one in the order was able to brew the complicated potions, like the veritaserum and anti-poisons.

Now, his own ignorance had enabled Snape to get closer to getting a Mastery. Who knew what the boy would do with the recognition and opportunities that came along with it? If he had told the teachers of his plans, things might have turned out differently.

Dumbledore sighed and sank in one of his comfortable armchairs. He ran a hand over his beard. This was not the time to dwell on the past. He had to find a way to fix this. First he needed to talk to his Gryffindors.

He had thought by making James the head boy along with Miss. Evans, he could motivate them to take responsibility. He was counting on them to lead the resistance against Voldemort. They were strong together, but James needed his friends. Unity was the main factor in success. He had known these boys for six years, he was sure he could get them back together.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33: September First

Summary: Sirius and Remus are summoned to Dumbledore's office.

Severus stood in front of the mirror. He fixed his tie and put on his robes. He was as ready as he could be for the beginning of the school year. He had spent the last two weeks of summer taking notes and researching in the library and he was two or three chapters ahead in each subject. He had also done some brewing and started his work for Professor Sprout in the greenhouses.

Severus picked up his bag and took another look at his reflection. His old bag seemed a bit out of place next to his new tailor made robes. He sighed. Buying these robes has been a huge waste of money. They sure looked nice but the cost was three times more than second hand robes and he couldn't use them again after school.

He took a deep breath before stepping outside. Last night at the welcoming feast, all the students had been staring at him and whispering to each other. Severus had had breakfast in his rooms, so this was the first time he was going to face them and couldn't help but feel nervous. He tried not to look at the people walking around him and occluded his mind as he headed to the charms classroom. He stood in front of the class in the corridor at a safe distance from everyone else.

Severus was so focused on his occluding that he didn't notice someone was marching up to him until he saw Lily standing right in front of him. She looked furious and her green eyes were shinning with anger. "Don't try to ignore me!" she hissed, pointing a finger at him. "I don't know what you've told the teachers or how you've fooled them into hiring you, Snivellus but I'm not letting you get away with it." said Lily, louder than was necessary. Everyone turned their attention to them.

Severus narrowed his eyes. "Do whatever the hell you want! I don't give a damn about what you think." he snapped.

"Don't talk to me like that! I'm head girl, now. I'll have you in detention for the rest of the term." she said with an air of self-importance.

Severus snorted. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm part of the staff. Only the teachers can give me detention." he said with confidence. He couldn't let Lily get to him.

"You've done something. I know it! Why in the world would Slughorn choose someone like you? Everyone knows I'm his best student." spat Lily. She was getting more worked up by the minute.

"Oh, really? Then how come you melted your cauldrons last year?" asked Severus, silkily. It had happened at their last potion class. Lily had just agreed to go to Hogsmeade with James Potter and she had been too busy giggling with her friends and exchanging notes with Potter to focus on her work.

Lily's face became red with anger and embarrassment. She turned to Potter, who was standing nearby and watching their exchange. "James! Are you just going to stand there and let him talk to me like that?" she snapped at her boyfriend.

Potter pulled out his wand and stepped closer, Pettigrew at his heels. Severus took out his own wand. As Potter got ready to throw the first hex, his wand slipped away from his fingers and flew to the other side of the corridor, along with Pettigrew's. They turned around to see Professor Flitwick walking towards them. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked.

"He was trying to hex Lily! I had to stop him." answered Potter defiantly before anyone else had time to react. Pettigrew nodded. "Yeah, James saved her." he said.

"I saw what happened with my own eyes, gentlemen. Ten points from each of you for lying to a teacher and twenty points each for attacking a member of the staff." said Flitwick calmly. He gave Severus a meaningful look. Severus nodded and pocketed his own wand.

"But that's sixty points, Professor!" protested Lily. "James was really trying to defend me. Snape was insulting me in front of everyone. He's rude and disrespectful. He shouldn't be allowed on the staff."

"You shouldn't speak that harshly about one of your classmates, Miss Evans. As the head girl you should to try and be more supportive of the other students. Mr. Snape is polite and decent as well as talented and driven. I was one of the people who recommended him for the post and I'm sure he will be a great help to Professor Slughorn and the other staff members." answered Flitwick firmly. "Let's get on with our class, shall we?" he added as he gave Potter and Pettigrew their wands back and stood by the door until everyone got inside.

...

Sirius and Remus were having lunch at the great hall. Sirius kept looking at the head table where Severus was sitting. The boy still looked upset. Sirius had wanted to defend him that morning but had stopped himself. He didn't know how Severus would react. The Slytherin hadn't been that impressed the last time he had tried to help with Rosier. Now, Sirius was regretting his inaction though. He should have hexed James, he thought to himself. He came out of his musings when Remus called his name. "Sirius, take a look at this." said Remus.

"What is it?"

"Message from Dumbledore. We have to go to his office at seven, this evening." answered Remus and handed Sirius a piece of parchment.

Sirius read the message then looked up. "What do you think he wants?"

"I think he was angry, last night. He kept staring at us all through the welcoming feast."

"The welcoming feast? We didn't do anything at the feast, did we? I mean, I wasn't really paying attention to the sorting, but I don't think he would summon us for something like that."

"No, it's not that. I think it had something to do with us sitting away from James and Peter." said Remus, thoughtfully. "I don't know why he would care, but he didn't look happy about it."

They were both quiet for a moment, then Remus started to talk again. "What should we do if asks us to be friends with them?"

Sirius frowned at that. "Do you want to be friends with them?"

"No. No, I don't. What they did this morning, it was just ridiculous. And we all used to act like that. It bothered me when things went too far before but seeing it from outside, I don't want to be a part of any of it." answered Remus. "It's just … I owe Dumbledore. He went through a lot of trouble to make sure I can come to school. I can't say no to him." he continued quietly.

"Remus, listen. It doesn't matter if you owe him. You can't let him make your decisions for you." said Sirius. He could see his friend wasn't convinced. "You don't have to say no. Just tell him you'll try or that you'll think about it. I used to say that to my parents all the time."

"Did it work?" asked Remus with a small smile.

"Yeah, it did the first hundred times." answered Sirius with a grin.

...

Sirius and Remus stepped into the Headmaster's office. James and Peter were already there and helping themselves to tea and cookies. By the looks of it, they had been there for some time.

"Ah, there you are boys. Come over and join us." said Dumbledore, cheerfully. He poured some tea for both of them without asking and leaned back in his chair. Sirius and Remus sat down and picked up their cups. It wasn't the first time the four of them had been invited to tea in the Headmaster's office. But things had never been so tense.

After a few minutes of silence James cleared his throat. "Look, guys. I know we've been fighting but we should try and put our differences aside. We are Gryffindor. We shouldn't fight with each other." he said confidently.

"Well said, my boy. Troubled times are coming and we should stay united in the face of the enemy. There are dark forces at play. Only the strong and true of heart can fight against them and there's nothing stronger than friendship." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. He looked at Sirius for a second, then turned his piercing gaze to Remus.

"We'll try to remember that, Professor." said Remus. Sirius took a sip of his tea to hide his smile.

"Good. I'm counting on you four to be more responsible this year. I have asked James to step in as head boy and you should all help him control the students. I want you boys to shake hands and promise that there won't be any more of the nonsense I saw at the welcoming feast." continued Dumbledore in commanding tone.

"We can't promise that. We'll help our housemates if they're in trouble or when they're fighting dark wizards. But we're not going to pretend to be friends with them." said Sirius nonchalantly, holding the man's gaze.

"You see how unreasonable he is, sir?" whined James. Peter nodded.

Dumbledore ignored them. He was taken aback by Sirius' answer. He seemed to be in battle with himself to control his temper. It didn't unnerve Sirius, neither did the disappointed look the man sent him. He was used to this kind of fuss from his parents. After a few minutes of silence, the Headmaster sighed dramatically. "You don't understand, boys. The enemy has eyes and ears everywhere. Showing a united front is just as important as fighting in the battle." he said, turning his gaze to Remus again.

"We'll … we'll think about it, s … sir." answered Remus in a small voice and looked down at his lap.

"Are we free to go, Headmaster? We have a ton of reading to do for tomorrow and we need to revise our summer assignments. Like you said, Remus and I are trying to be more responsible this year and focus on our studies instead of making trouble." said Sirius and stood up. Remus was quick to follow.

Sirius could see his hint was not lost on the aged wizard. After a moment Dumbledore heaved another sigh. "Of course. You may get to your studies. But remember, the war is only a step away."

"Yes, sir." answered Sirius before leaving the office with Remus.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: The Research Project

Summary: Sirius and Severus become partners at transfiguration.

Sirius was huddled on his bed with Remus. They had drawn the curtains and put on a silencing charm to make a small study area. This year, they had to do a research project for each of their main subjects; charms, herbology, potions, transfigurations and defense against the dark arts. The two of them had partnered with Lisa March, one of the Ravenclaw girls, for most of their projects.

As Sirius was leafing through a charms book to find a subject for their research, something occurred to him. "Hey, Remus?" he said.

"Hmm."

"Have you noticed that Severus is doing his projects alone?"

"What?" asked Remus as he looked up from his book.

"Severus. He hasn't partnered with anyone in charms or potion or defense. He's doing all of his research alone." explained Sirius.

Remus shrugged. "He probably doesn't want to work with the Slytherins and he doesn't have any friends in other houses. The Ravenclaws would kill to partner with him, you know. Specially in potions and defense, but they're too proud to ask him."

"Yeah, exactly. Remember that girl I used to date, fifth year? That Hufflepuff seventh year, Sara?"

Remus frowned. "Not really. What does that have to be with anything?"

"She was a talker. She told me all about her classes and her classmates and the project they had to do."

"And?"

"She said McGonagall makes everyone work in teams. It's a non-negotiable with her. Sara said some of the Ravenclaw show offs in her class wanted to work alone but McGonagall made them work together." said Sirius excitedly. "We have transfiguration tomorrow. If I don't partner with anyone, maybe McGonagall would put me with Severus. It will be perfect, Moony! Transfiguration is my best subject and the project is for the whole year. We'll be researching together and reporting to McGonagall every two weeks." he continued, grinning from ear to ear.

Remus sighed. "I'd be mad at you for blowing me off at your 'best subject', but that does sound like a good plan."

"Really? You think it's a good plan?" said Sirius. His face fell a little after a moment. "You sure you're not mad at me?"

"It's fine, Sirius. I know how much you like Severus. And I can still work with Lisa. You'll help us if we get stuck or something, right?"

"Yeah, sure." answered Sirius with another grin.

...

Severus was sitting alone at his usual seat in front of the class. He was reading the fifth chapter of his transfiguration text while listening to McGonagall's lecture about the importance of the seventh year, the NEWTs and their research project. He could see the Gryffindor head of house was annoyed at him, but apparently she couldn't find fault with what he was doing.

The lecture was over after twenty minutes and McGonagall asked the students to form their research groups. Severus sighed as his classmates started to whisper and move around the room. He pulled his book closer and tried to focus on his reading.

He had been studying through most of his classes this week. With all the extra responsibilities, his schedule was busier than ever and he took every chance he got to study. Every morning, he woke up early and went outside. He put some food for his furry friend at the edge of the forest and worked on his small herb garden before going to the greenhouses to check on the plants and tended to them while occluding. He then went inside for a shower and ate his breakfast while doing homework. Whenever he had a free period he would go to the staffroom to correct the students' potions homework, since he wasn't allowed to take them to his rooms. After classes he would either do some brewing or study in his rooms.

Most of the teachers were friendlier this year and they did their best to make him feel included. They always ordered some coffee for the staffroom, even though Severus was the only one who liked it and left the chair he preferred by the fireplace empty for him. Madam Pomfrey made sure he ate healthy and tried to coax him into eating more fruits and vegetables. Mrs. March, the librarian had proposed to bring him the books he needed from the library after seeing how busy he was. It was a huge help. Severus had already made a list of the books he might need based on his books' index before the school started. He wrote down the ones he needed and gave it to Mrs. March at lunch. The librarian would check them out and bring the books for him at dinner.

Severus looked up from his book when McGonagall called his name. She was probably the only teacher who still didn't like him. "Yes, ma'am." he said politely.

"Sorry to interrupt your reading, Mr. Snape." said McGonagall in an annoyed tone. "Like I said, I need to know who you'd be partnering with. Since you didn't use the time I gave you to form a group, I'm assuming you already know who you're working with." she continued.

"I was planning to work alone, professor." answered Severus. There were a few snickers from the other students.

"I've already explained that you have to work in groups. Perhaps if you didn't have your nose in a book when I was talking, you would have found a partner by now. You leave me no choice but to partner you with a group myself."

"But I thought Professor Slughorn talked to you and the other teachers, ma'am. With my busy schedule it's not possible for me to …."

"You should have thought of that when you accepted the responsibility, young man. If you want to pass this class, you're going to have to find the time. Now, let's get to the other students and then I will decide in which group you will be working." said McGonagall firmly. Severus was nervous. He sat there and tried to keep his emotions under control while the other students wrote down their names on a roll of parchment and handed it to McGonagall. Severus held his breath as the Professor started to read the parchment. "Mr. Black!" she snapped suddenly. "Why in the world did you write your name separately? Didn't you listen to a word I said? You are supposed to work in groups!"

"I was listening, professor. But since I'm on top of the class in transfigurations, I thought it would be alright." answered Black nonchalantly.

"You assumed wrong! The rules in this class apply to all of the students, no matter how exceptional they think they are. You'll be working with Mr. Snape." said McGonagall. She picked up a quill and added their names to the parchment.

"What?! You can't do this …."

"Ten points from Slytherin. Another word out of you, Mr. Snape and it will be detention." snapped McGonagall. Severus didn't say anything for the rest of the class. He was the first one out of the door when the bell rang.

...

Sirius stood at the door to the staffroom and knocked. He waited a few seconds but when no answer came went inside. Severus was the only one there. He was sitting near the fireplace with a stack of parchment on his lap. "Hey, Severus." said Sirius as he walked closer.

Severus looked up. His face darkened when he saw Sirius. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"I thought we should talk since we're doing the transfiguration project together." answered Sirius as he sat next to him.

"You set it up, didn't you?" said Severus accusingly. "This is some kind of prank. Why else would you put in your name alone with all the fuss that McGonagall made about me?"

"Look, Severus. I'm done with all the pranking, I swear." started Sirius. Severus snorted. "I mean it. Remus and I are not friends with James and Peter anymore. We just want to keep our heads down and study."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, honest. I've partnered with Remus and Lisa March for my other projects. But I wanted to give them a little time together. You see, Remus and Lisa like each other, but Remus never asks anyone out. You know, because of his condition. I figured, since I'm good at transfiguration I could work alone and let them pair up. I thought McGonagall would let me get away with it." explained Sirius.

Severus narrowed his eyes. "Then why didn't you say anything when McGonagall said you had to work with me?"

"Why wouldn't I want to work with you? Everyone knows you're smart and you care about your marks and stuff." said Sirius. He could see the other boy wasn't convinced. "I know I've always been mean to you and I'm really sorry. I didn't realize what a jerk I was. Now that I know, I'm trying to be better." he continued.

He could see the shock on Severus' face. The boy stared at him with bottomless black eyes. He blinked a couple of times, his long lashes flattering. After a few minutes of silence, Severus sighed and ran a hand through his silky black hair. "Look, I couldn't work with a partner even if I wanted to. I'm busy all the time. I have brewing and homework to correct." he said, gesturing to the parchments he was still holding. "And I tend to some of the plants in the greenhouses. I don't know about your schedule but I don't think we can come up with something that works for both of us."

"Alright. We'll work with your schedule since you're busier. James threw me out of the quidditch team, so I'm free most of the times. You're in all of my classes except for muggle studies. That's Wednesday mornings, second period. We have to report to McGonagall every two weeks, so we should meet once or twice a week. You let me know when you have time." reasoned Sirius.

Severus stared at him for a few seconds, then put the parchments aside and pulled a notebook out of his bag. "I was thinking about doing a research on human transfigurations since we haven't really gone through it in class." he said. He opened the notebook to the correct page and handed it to Sirius.

Sirius took it with a grin and started to read. The notes were arranged neatly. Severus had written a brief explanation about each aspect of human transfiguration and a list of the library books related to it. "Wow, this is great. You always work like this?" he asked, enthusiastically.

Severus ignored his question. "So? You want to work on this subject or not?"

"Yeah, it's good."

"Write down the first five books on the list and start taking notes. We'll meet in the library Saturday afternoon at 2."

Sirius took a piece of parchment and a quill out of his bag and wrote down the names of the books. "See you Saturday." he said with a smile as he stood up. Severus nodded and got back to his marking.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35: The Silver Lighter

Summary: Regulus drops by at the potions lab to see Severus.

Severus labeled the pepper up potion vials and started to clean up. It was the second week of classes and Severus was done with the brewing. It was a relief, really. He had to brew potions every once in a while but for the most part, he would have the evenings to himself. He had also done some experimenting in the past few weeks for his research project. He was planning to do a paper on simplifying the brewing process which covered both potions and herbology. He had gotten the idea from the books Regulus had given him for Christmas. The potions in those books used basic ingredients, but the brewing process had been complex. Severus was comparing the new version of the potions with the old versions and trying to categorize the herbs that could be used in simplifying the brewing.

He was also doing another paper about werewolves and the potions they could use throughout the month to ease the transfiguration. The book about werewolves' old traditions had opened up a lot of new possibilities. That paper was for defense and potions. For his charms class, he was doing a research on the healing charms used on the victims of werewolves' attacks.

And then there was the transfiguration project. He had decided to work on a more general topic for that one. His understanding of transfiguration was not as good as his other subjects, so he hadn't been planning to put in that much effort. Now that he was working with Black though, he tried to work as hard as he could. They had already met in the library three times and things had gone surprisingly smoothly. True to his word, Black had let Severus do the planning and by the looks of it he was taking their research seriously. They had gone through almost all of the books on their list and they were going to do a revise the next day.

Severus looked up when he heard a knock. "I'm almost done, Professor. I'm just …." he trailed off when he saw Regulus coming in.

"Hi, Sev. Slughorn let me in." he said. "I should have come sooner, but I didn't want to attract too much attention."

"Regulus!" Severus said brightly. He left the rag he was cleaning the table with and rushed over to hug his friend. He pulled away suddenly, a second later. "Oh, god! Sorry. I got your robes all dirty."

"It's fine." answered Regulus with a smile and sat down on one of the stools. "How was your summer? You were at Hogwarts, right?"

"Yeah, I had to stay here. It was fine, though. I was reading those books you gave me most of the time. What about you?" asked Severus has sat next to him.

"Things were a little tense. You know the Lestranges were sentenced to ten years in Azkaban. The kidnapping would have gotten them three maybe four years, since they didn't harm you and didn't actually take you out of Hogwarts. It was their dark mark that pushed it to ten years, you know having participated in illegal dark rituals. That has made the purebloods really unhappy. The Lestranges and the Blacks most of all. Rodolphus and Rabastan are the Lestranges' only children. And Bellatrix was supposed to marry Rodolphus this summer. Others are saying they don't want their children to get the mark anymore and the dark Lord is furious. There were all these people that graduated this year and their parents didn't take them to him to be marked."

"So, is Evan …." Severus trailed off. He couldn't get the words out.

"No, not yet." answered Regulus.

Severus let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "And you? What do your parents think?"

"They don't want me to take the mark. With Sirius moving out, I'm their only ward. My parents don't have the mark themselves. Most of the pureblood elders don't. Their support is financial and political. The younger pureblood are the ones who are expected to do the field work. Most of the girls haven't gotten the mark either, not like Bellatrix. Now, the dark lord wants the elders and the girls to take the mark as well."

"You should think of a contingency plan, Reg. You can arrange to go to a university far away from here after school, somewhere with limited access. Like you said, the dark lord's angry. He is a very powerful wizard. There's no saying what he's really capable of." said Severus quietly. He squeezed Regulus' hand. Regulus nodded in response.

...

Sirius was working at the library with Severus. He went through their notes in his head. "We should put the animagus transformation in a different category. It can only take form of the animal your personality is closer to, it doesn't require a spell and you can stay in the animal form for as long as you want." he said, counting the differences with his fingers.

Severus nodded absentmindedly. "So, we have transfiguring humans to objects, plants and animals and we're going to put animal into two categories."

Sirius frowned. "No, I'm saying we should have a category dedicated to animagus transformation."

Severus sighed. "Fine, but we're asking McGonagall on Monday." he said. Sirius' frown deepened. It wasn't like Severus to avoid arguing. He looked at the other boy for a second. There were dark circles under his eyes and he seemed to be deep in thought.

"Severus, are you OK? You look upset." asked Sirius.

"I'm fine." answered Severus shortly.

Sirius didn't push farther. He picked up his quill and started to rewrite their notes on a blank roll of parchment, while keeping an eye on Severus. After a few minutes, Severus took out a small silver item out of his pocket and started to play with it. Sirius put the parchment away when he was done and took a closer look. "Is that a lighter?" he asked curiously.

Severus looked up, startled. "Yeah, it was for my dad." he said, running his fingers on the edges.

"Can I see it?" asked Sirius.

Severus hesitated for a second, then handed it to him. It was square and antique looking. There was a picture of a ship on one side. "This is so cool." said Sirius, admiring the detailed drawing.

"Black? Can I ask you something?" said Severus suddenly.

Sirius looked up with a smile. "Sure." he said.

Severus was quiet for a second. "Why didn't you get along with your parents? I don't mean the whole thing about you being Gryffindor. I mean before Hogwarts." he asked finally.

Sirius looked into Severus' dark eyes. He hadn't talked to anyone about this, but he felt an ach to tell Severus. He took a deep breath, then started to talk. "When I was a kid, all my parents cared about was teaching me to behave properly. They never spent any time with me except for those lessons. I wasn't allowed to run around and play. I would sit in my room and look out the window at the people down on the street. Our house was in a muggle neighborhood, you see. There were all these muggle kids there, wearing comfortable clothes and playing together. With their parents talking to them and laughing. One day I decided to go outside and play with them. I took off my robes and went out in a shirt and trousers." Sirius paused, remembering the excitement and joy he had felt. "It didn't take long for my parents to realize I was gone. Our house elf, kreacher told them. They obliviated the muggles and took me inside. My mother started yelling at me about how filthy and worthless muggles are and that if I talked to another muggle again, she'll torture them to death."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." said Severus, uncomfortably.

Sirius realized he had been crying. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and took a deep breath to compose himself. They sat there for a few minutes. Severus was the first one to break the silence. "It's almost curfew, Sirius. We should go." he said as he stood up and started to put his things in his bag.

Sirius smiled. It was the first time Severus had called him by his name. They gathered their things and stepped outside together, then said goodbye and started walking in opposite directions. When Sirius got to his dorm room, he sat down on his bed for a few minutes, still smiling. He looked at his hands, suddenly. He was still holding the lighter.

...

Notes: Severus got the lighter as a Christmas present for his father, last year.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36: The Three Broomsticks

Summary: Severus goes out with his professors to get a drink.

Severus and Sirius walked in the library and sat at their favorite table near the transfiguration section. It was Monday and they had just presented their research to McGonagall. Their topic had been accepted, but they had to make a few adjustments. As they started to work, Sirius noticed a red-headed Hufflepuff staring at them from a nearby table. "Severus? That guy is staring at us." said Sirius.

"What guy?" asked Severus and looked up. He groaned when his eyes fell on the boy, who was smirking now. "Just ignore him."

"Do you know him?"

"His name's Marcus Spinnet, I think. He's Hufflepuff's new seeker."

"What does he want? Why is he looking at you like that?" asked Sirius, scowling. He didn't like the smug look on the boy's face.

Severus sighed and put his quill down. "He asked me out. You know, for Hogsmeade." he said with irritation. "Can you believe that? He's a fourth year. He doesn't even reach to my shoulder!"

Sirius couldn't help but to chuckle at that. "Why don't you just say no?"

"I did. He thinks I'm playing hard to get, because apparently everyone knows I'm into quidditch players." answered Severus. "I'd hex him, but I'd get into a lot of trouble. Slughorn has warned me not to do it unless someone attacks me."

"Do you want me to hex him? He's kind of annoying me, too." said Sirius, trying to hold in a smirk.

Severus rolled his eyes. "No, thank you. I'll just stay out of Hogsmeade this weekend." he said as he picked up his quill again and started to work.

Sirius watched Severus' slender hand moving on the parchment for a few minutes and gathered his courage before talking. "You know, if you go to Hogsmeade with someone else he'll leave you alone."

"I suppose. But there's not anyone I can go with." answered Severus without looking up.

Sirius fidgeted in his sit. He could see the boy hadn't gotten the hint, but he had lost his nerve, now. Sirius opened his mouth, but couldn't get the words out.

Severus looked up, suddenly. "What?" he saked frowning.

"I …" started Sirius. He cleared his throat. "I was just going to say that …." he tried again but the moment was gone. As Sirius wiped his sweaty palms on his robes he felt something in his pocket. "I forgot to give your lighter." he said finally and pulled the lighter out of his pocket.

"You found it! I thought I have lost it for good." said Severus, excitedly.

"I didn't really find it. I was looking at it the other day and forgot to give it back." explained Sirius lamely.

Severus took the lighter and ran his fingers on the edges. He then put it in his pocket carefully and looked up. "Thanks, anyway." he said with a bright smile. Sirius felt his heart melting.

...

Severus sat in the staffroom, Friday evening. He was going through his corrected papers and marking them. His mind kept going back to Sirius. He had been acting really weird yesterday. He had fidgeted the whole time. It was as if he wanted to say something, but stopping himself.

The more Severus thought about it, the more clear it became. Sirius had been trying to ask him out. He had said something on Monday about going to Hogsmeade, but Severus hadn't been paying attention. He hadn't believed him when Sirius had said he liked him, last year. He had been certain it had been a cruel prank. But now he wasn't so sure. And then there was that kiss at the Halloween party.

Severus sighed. It didn't really matter if Sirius like him. The boy had been decent and considerate for the last few weeks, but it didn't make up for all the crap he had put Severus through. They weren't even friends. They were just study partners.

"Excited for the Hogsmeade visit, Severus?" asked Flitwick, bringing Severus out of his thoughts.

"I am. The library is always empty on Hogsmeade days."

"The library? You mean, you're not going to the village?" It was professor Sprout who asked.

Severus shrugged. "There's no one I want to go with and I'm trying to avoid some boy."

"Is someone making trouble for you?" asked Flitwick with a frown.

"No, nothing like that. He's just annoying me." answered Severus. He marked the last paper and stood up to put them away.

"How about we go to the Three Broomsticks, tonight?" said Sprout.

"Splendid! Pick up your cloak, Severus. No argument. You're coming with us." announced Flitwick. He walked by the door and picked up his own cloak. He then handed Sprout's cloak to her.

"Going somewhere?" asked a female voice. Severus looked up. It was McGonagall.

"We're going for a drink. Do you want to come, Minerva?" asked Sprout.

"Oh, yes. We haven't done that in ages." answered McGonagall. The three professors put on their cloaks and started to go out the door. Severus just stood there, uncertainly. After a moment Flitwick turned around. "Come on, Severus."

"But, I …"

"No buts. You're coming." answered Flitwick firmly. Severus sighed and followed them out the door. McGonagall didn't look happy about Severus joining them. She ignored him all the way to Hogsmeade. Finally they reached the Three Broomsticks and sat at a table in the corner. Flitwick got a round of butterbeers for everyone. As the professors started to chat. Severus dropped his eyes and started to play with the edge of his robes.

Flitwick turned to him after a few minutes. "Severus. I've been meaning to tell you. I read your research proposal. It was very interesting." he said.

"It can't be more interesting than his work on herbelogy. That would get published for sure." said Sprout.

"Thank you." answered Severus quietly.

"Your work with Mr. Black is turning out to be one of the best projects in my class, as well. Despite all the fuss you made." added McGonagall pointedly. Severus dropped his eyes again. There was an awkward silence. Severus could feel they were all staring at him.

Flitwick cleared his throat after a few minutes. "The point is, Severus. I'm really proud of the way you're handling the work load. You're doing a fine job."

"I don't deny that, but I still don't care about the way he went about getting the position." snapped McGonagall. Severus looked up at that. "You got signatures from all of the heads of houses except me, Mr. Snape. Didn't it occur to you to ask my opinion as well?"

Severus shrugged. "I only needed a few signatures. I asked people who I thought would agree."

"Of course. That's the Slytherin way, after all. Isn't it? Sneaking behind people's back." answered McGonagall. Her irritation seemed to have lessened. "I suppose I wouldn't have agreed. You have never shown exceptional talent in my class. I was very much surprised when you got an O in your OWLs. Not to mention you were always making some kind of trouble." she explained. "Nevertheless. I still think you should have asked me. I am the deputy headmistress after all."

"That's a very Gryffindor thing to say, Professor."

"Really? How so?" asked McGonagall, raising an eyebrow.

"You Gryffindors like to be in control all the time. As if your opinion is worth more than everyone else's." answered Severus bluntly.

The transfiguration Professor was quiet for a second. She blinked a few times and stared at Severus, as if seeing him for the first time. She then started to laugh. Flitwick and Sprout laugh as well and the tension melted.

Flitwick raised his glass. "To Severus. The first Hogwarts student to make Minerva laugh this hard." They all raised their glasses.

"Do you not like butterbeer, Severus? Your glass is still full." asked Sprout.

"Butterbeer is too sweet for me. I like regular beer and whiskey better."

"You drink whiskey?" asked McGonagall in a sharp tone.

Severus shrugged. "I've tried it a couple of times." he answered honestly.

"I bet you haven't tried fire whiskey, yet." said Flitwick, mischievously.

"Filius!"

"Oh, come now Minerva. He's of age." answered the charms professor. "It's time for some real drinks." he announced and stood up.

"I'm coming with you. You never get the right wine." said Sprout and followed him to the counter.

Severus was left alone with McGonagall. He took a sip of his butterbeer and pursed his lip at the sweet taste. McGonagall chuckled. "You really are doing a fine job, Severus. Your parents must be very proud." she said.

Severus swallowed. "I think, they would have been." he answered quietly.

"Have they passed away?" asked McGonagall, surprised.

"My father has."

"My condolences." said McGonagall. "I lost my parents when I was young, too. It's never easy." she continued and reached over to squeeze his hand. They both looked up when they heard Flitwick and Sprout approaching the table.

"Here we are." said Flitwick, as they sat down. "Elf made wine for the ladies and fire whisky for the guys." he said cheerfully.

After they clicked their glasses together, Severus took a sip of his drink. He started coughing the minute the liquid touched his tongue. His eyes watered as it burned his throat on the way down. Everyone started laughing, again. After a moment someone handed him a glass of water and the coughing subsided a few minutes later.

"Never gets old!" said Flitwick cheerfully. Severus glared at him, which only made the man laugh harder.

"Looks like you have to stick to butterbeer for now, young man." said McGonagall with a smile as she put his glass back in the tray. Severus smiled back.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37: The Greenhouses

Summary: Severus offers to help Sirius study.

The days were passing by quickly. The fall term was almost over and the exams were in three weeks. The students were supposed to present a lay out of their research projects before the exams started. Severus had made good progress with his research and was ready for the exams. Things were much better this year. Having a private room was a real luxury. It made him feel safe and helped him work more efficiently.

Regulus had visited him a few more times. Their conversations had been lighter, though. They just sat together and chatted about school. Regulus had started to look into universities overseas. He was planning on getting a Mastery in ancient runes. It was a respectable subject among the pure-bloods since it was considered old magic. There weren't that many jobs for a runs Master, but that wasn't an issue for Regulus.

Severus had also become closer with the staff members. He would never have thought such a thing was possible but they seemed to have accepted him into their fold. He was now allowed to use their first names and was always invited to their Friday night gatherings. They didn't go out often. They usually met in one of the heads of houses rooms, mostly drinking and playing chess. Somehow Severus always ended up playing with McGonagall. He won most of the times, which irritated the transfiguration teacher to no end.

There was only one thing bothering Severus and that was his transfiguration project. Working Sirius was starting to make him uncomfortable. The boy hadn't done anything wrong. He was studious and hardworking and tried to work with Severus' insane schedule. He did stare at him a lot, but that didn't bother Severus. The problem was the boy's enthusiasm. He worked too hard to please Severus and impress him. That reminded the Slytherin of the way he himself used to act around Lily.

They had been working together for about three months and Severus had learned more about transfiguration than he would have in a whole school year. Sirius was a natural at transfiguration and he understood the theory really well. He was Patient with Severus and explained everything thoroughly to him.

It was during one of their study sessions that Severus came to decision. "Sirius? I wanted to talk to you about something." he started.

"Alright." answered Sirius with a frown.

"This project we're doing together is really helping me with transfiguration. I thought maybe I could help you with another subject, like potions."

"Oh" said Sirius. He seemed relieved. "You don't have to do this. I know how busy you are." he continued.

"I want to do it. I can help you with any subject you want. It won't take that much time. You can give me your homework in the evenings and I'll check them for you over night." proposed Severus. He ran a hand through his hair to gather his thoughts. "I work in the greenhouses on the weekends. I can explain things to you while I work there." he continued.

Sirius grinned, making his handsome face glow. "Thank you, Severus. I'd love to spend more time … you know, studying." he said, blushing.

Severus smiled in answer which only made Sirius blush deeper. "You're welcome." said Severus and went back to taking notes.

...

Severus was correcting the students' homework, Wednesday evening. He looked up when he heard a knock. A second later Sirius came in. "Hey, Sirius." he said and watched the nervous boy come closer.

Sirius took a deep breath and put his hands in his pockets before talking. "Severus, it was really nice of you to offer to help me with my studies and I don't want to be rude." he started. "But I have to ask. Would it be alright for Remus to come study with us? He's my best friend, you know and he really needs help with potions."

"Why would I help him? He's your friend, not mine." snapped Severus. He regretted it a second later, when he saw Sirius drop his head in defeat. Severus sighed. "If he needs my help, he has to ask himself." he reasoned. The words had hardly left him when the door opened again and Lupin came in. It was obvious that the boy had been eavesdropping.

"Look, Severus. I'm failing potions. Will you please help me study?" asked Lupin. Despite his composure Severus could sense that he was nervous, too. Severus closed his eyes in irritation and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Gryffindors" he murmured under his breath, then opened his eyes. The other two were looking at him hopefully. "Fine. But if you try anything, I swear to god …."

"We won't. Promise." said Sirius, grinning. Lupin nodded by his side.

"9 A.M. Saturday, greenhouse two." he said shortly and got back to his marking.

...

Sirius dropped on his bed. Remus slummed next to him a second later. Both of them were exhausted, but Sirius couldn't stop grinning. The whole weekend had been perfect. Sirius and Remus had studied two chapters of their potions book together for Saturday. Severus had answered all of their questions and had even assigned them further reading for the next day. The two of them had studied hard to go through all of the books Severus had recommended. By the time their study session with Severus was over on Sunday, they had gained a ton of new knowledge.

As glad as Sirius was to finally begin to understand potions, he was looking forward to the next weekend for another reason. He had enjoyed spending time with Severus. The boy had been wearing muggle clothes in the warm green house, which showed his slender figure. He had looked peaceful and centered while working and his eyes danced with excitement when he talked about potions.

"I can see why you like him." said Remus suddenly. "He may not be good looking, but he's a really nice guy."

"What do you mean he's not good looking? Didn't you see how he looks in T-shirt and jeans?" asked Sirius.

Remus chuckled. "He is fit, I guess."

"And passionate, too. He gets all excited when he's talking about potions."

"Yeah. He even got me interested. I've never done this much extra reading. Except when we were researching about animagus transfiguration." admitted Remus. "When are you going to ask him out?"

"I … I don't know." answered Sirius. "He's finally warming up to me. I don't want to ruin it."

"You can't wait too long, Sirius. What if someone else asks him out, first?"

"You're right." answered Sirius quietly, his good mood vanishing. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. "Maybe over Christmas." he said finally.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38: The Third Wheel

Summary: Severus has lunch with Remus and Sirius.

Severus was working at the greenhouses, Saturday morning. Their exams were over and there was only two weeks to the winter holidays. Severus was harvesting the Fanged Geranium, while debating over what to get the Johnsons for Christmas. The plant almost bit him when his leather bracelet tightened around his wrist.

Severus looked out through the glass wall and saw Sirius and Remus walking towards the door. He took off one of his gloves and waved his wand to drop the wards on the door with a sigh. Potter hadn't tried anything major after the first day of school. He had apparently realized their usual routine didn't work that well with only two marauders. Still, Severus was always cautious.

"Hey, guys." said Severus as he put his wand away.

"Good morning, Severus." said Remus.

"Hi." answered Sirius with one of his charming grins. "We didn't see you after the potion exam yesterday." he continued.

"We're really grateful for your help, Severus. Me, specially. I was sure I was going to fail." added Remus.

"How was it? Did you get the second one right? I told you to read on that." asked Severus sternly.

The two Gryffindors shared a smirk before answering. "It was good. We did all the revising you told us to do, Wednesday." said Remus, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Good." said Severus with a scowl. He then put his glove back on and got back to work. Remus and Sirius apparently took that as an invite and sat down at their usual sits in the corner.

"So, what are your plans for Christmas? You're staying at Hogwarts?" asked Sirius after a couple of minutes.

Severus sighed. "I wanted to go home, but I decided to stay. I need to work on my projects during the holiday and it will be easier here, since I have access to the library. I'm going home for the Christmas day, though" he explained. "What about you guys?"

"We're staying, too. It will be our first Christmas here." answered Remus.

"Me, too. Filius says the feast is pretty great." said Severus absentmindedly as he moved on to the Screechsnaps.

"Filius?! You call Professor Flitwick, Filius?" asked Sirius, incredulously.

Severus shrugged. "I call all of them by their first names. Except for Dumbledore. I never really talk to him." he said. They all went quiet for a few minutes.

"So, are you going to Hogsmeade next week?" asked Sirius hesitantly.

Severus stopped working and looked up. "I might. I do have some shopping to do." he said, looking at Sirius expectedly.

"Oh, good. Maybe the two of us can hang out. You know for … I mean with Remus." finished Sirius lamely, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Remus raised his eyebrows and blinked a few times. "Yeah, the three of us. It will be fun." he said.

Severus frowned. He felt a little disappointed. "Sure. Maybe we can have lunch together." he said finally. "At the Three Broomsticks, then?"

"It's too crowded, there. There's a little restaurant we've found in the village, Sally's. It's really nice and the food is great."

"Alright. Sounds good, Sirius." answered Severus, getting back to work.

...

Remus and Sirius were at Gladrags Wizardwear. They had been there for the last half an hour and Remus was bored out of his mind. He picked up a green cloak and held it out for Sirius. "What about this one, Siri? It's Slytherin green." he said hopefully.

Sirius took the cloak and examined it. "No, I don't like this one."

Remus sighed. "They're all nice, Sirius. Just pick one."

"I don't want to pick something nice. It has to be perfect."

"I don't understand why you wouldn't just buy a potions book? You know he'll like it." tried Remus again.

"That was my plan but I can't decide which book to buy. For all I know he's already read all of them!" explained Sirius in exasperation. "I know he needs a cloak. He's still wearing this old thing and it's not even a winter cloak. That's why he's always cold." he continued.

The shop keeper approached them at that moment. "Can I help you, boys?" she asked.

"Yes, please." said Remus pleadingly.

"I see you're looking for a cloak." observed the shop keeper.

"It's a Christmas present. But I can't find what I want." explained Sirius.

"You can have it custom made, dear. It will be ready in two days. Why don't you come take a look at our fabrics?"

"That sounds good, thank you." said Sirius, he was about to follow the shop keeper when Remus stopped him. "How long is this going to take? We're supposed to meet Severus in five minutes." he asked.

"Damn." murmured Sirius. "Can you go take Severus to Sally's? I'll meet you there in ten minutes."

"Fine." answered Remus. He was happy to get out of there. It didn't take long for him to get to the post office. Severus was waiting for him by the door, holding a few packages. "Hey, Severus. Have you been waiting for long?" he asked.

"No, just a few minutes." answered Severus with a frown. "Where is Sirius?"

"He's still shopping. He said he'll meet us in the restaurant." explained Remus. Severus just nodded in answer. They were both silent all the way to the restaurant. Severus walked at safe distance from him. When they went inside, the boy sat stiffly in his chair. He didn't even look at the menu before ordering. He just sat there, watching the door awkwardly. Suddenly, Remus felt like he had had enough. "Is it because of what I am?" he snapped.

Severus jumped in his chair a little. "What?" he asked in confusion.

"I thought we were becoming friends, but you're obviously not comfortable being around me." said Remus in a shaky voice. "Do you think I could turn into a beast and attack you? Is that it?" he continued. He felt a lump forming in his throat.

Severus stared at him for a second. "I'm not an idiot. I know that's not going to happen." he said finally.

"What, then?!"

"You've got some nerve asking me that." snapped Severus. "After all the stunts you and your friends have pulled, what makes you think I can trust you?"

"You're not this jumpy when Sirius is around." said Remus defiantly.

"Sirius apologized to me and swore not to do another prank, ever. I didn't believe him at first, but I do now." answered Severus. "I don't care about your condition as long as I don't have to deal with you on the full moon, again. I've been studying about werewolves since that day. I'm not afraid of you." he added quietly.

Remus blinked back tears. The harshly spoken words were oddly comforting. "I want us to be friends." he said after he composed himself. "If you want an apology …."

"I don't want an apology! It's not worth anything if you don't mean it." hissed Severus. "You may not have done anything to me directly but you always helped them out. You would watch out for teachers when they ambushed me and you always lied and defended them."

"I did." admitted Remus. He was quiet for a second, then looked up hopefully. "Can't we start over?" he asked, holding his breath. He could see Severus' features softening.

"Fine. But I can't help it if I'm jumpy." snapped Severus half-heartedly. Remus smiled widely in response. Sirius came in then, looking triumphant.

"Hi, sorry I'm late." he said and sat down in front of Severus.

"You got your shopping done?" asked Remus.

"Yep." answered Sirius with a grin. "Now, let's eat. I'm starving."


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Digging up the Past

Summary: Severus and Sirius have a talk.

Severus went to bed with a smile on his face. He had enjoyed himself that day. All the tension between Remus and him had melted away as soon as Sirius had arrived to the restaurant. The boy's good mood had rubbed off on them and they had spent the rest of their lunch chatting about school and the holidays. The food had been great, too. Severus didn't know how Remus and Sirius had found that restaurant, but it had become one of his favorite places in Hogsmeade.

...

Severus woke up in cold sweat, panting hard. He slumped against his bed's headboard and tried to catch his breath. Tears started to run down his face. He had dreamed of going on a date with Sirius. They had been on the road to Hogsmeade, talking and laughing. Severus had reached over to take Sirius' hand but the boy had pushed him in a tunnel. There was a growling werewolf on the other side, advancing on him. It had pawed his left arm and bitten his throat.

Severus squeezed his eyes shut and cried harder as he remembered the wolf's shiny yellow eyes and sharp teeth. He wasn't sure how much time passed as he rocked himself. When he finally calmed down, he got out of his bed and took a long shower.

There was a plate of cookies and cocoa on the coffee table when he came out of the shower. Severus smiled grimly and sat down. He started to occlude his mind as he sipped his drink. It was five by the time his mug was empty. Severus decide there was no point in trying to go back to sleep. He put on his robes and went outside. He tended to his small herb garden and put some food for his furry friend by the rabbit hole with a sigh. How he wished the dog was here right now.

Severus went to the greenhouses next and busied himself for as long as he could. When he was done, he decided to wait by the lake for a few minutes in hopes of seeing his friend coming for the food. He pulled out his wand and turned around suddenly, someone was walking towards him.

"Severus!" said a familiar voice in surprise. It was Sirius. He grinned and moved closer. Severus took a few steps back.

"Severus? Are you alright? Did something happen?" asked Sirius with a frown.

"I don't want to talk to you." answered Severus shortly. He started to walk towards the castle. He could sense Sirius was following him.

"What happened? You're worrying me. Please, tell me what's wrong." said Sirius urgently.

Severus turned around. "Stop it! Stop acting like you care." he bellowed.

Sirius stood still. "What do you …"

"You pretend to like me, but you don't. You hate me. You've always hated me."

"I don't hate you. I was an idiot. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" snapped Severus. "You tried to kill me. You expect me to believe it was just some stupid joke? That it didn't occur to you that I might get hurt?"

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but closed it again.

"I thought as much." said Severus quietly and started to walk away.

"It was all a plan." shouted Sirius after a few minutes. Severus didn't slow down. He could hear the other boy running after him. He caught up after a minute and fell into steps beside him. "James was supposed to pull you out before you got to the shack." he said.

Severus stopped in his tracks. "What?" he asked in confusion.

"We knew you were following us. We wanted to scare you off. I was supposed to lure you in and James was supposed to pull you back before you reached the end of the tunnel. It was James' idea. I know things got out of hand, but it wasn't in our plan. I swear!"

"It was Potter's idea?! The fucking bastard bragged to everyone about how he had saved my life. He even made up a story about how I wet myself and made me a laughing stock while I was half dead in the hospital."

"I know. I'm sorry." whispered Sirius.

"You have to tell Dumbledore." said Severus with defiance.

"I can't, Severus. I'm …"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry! You say you're not friends with him anymore. Why can't you tell Dumbledore what happened?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone Rosier and his friends were the ones that took you out of your dorm?" snapped Sirius. "They were delivering you to Death Eaters! Who knows what could have happened to you?"

Severus felt all of his strength leaving him. He sat bonelessly on the cold ground. "How … How did you know about that?" he asked after a moment.

Sirius sat down next to him with a sigh. "Regulus overheard them talking about you. He told me where they were meeting the Lestranges. I … I went there and eavesdropped, then floo called James' dad."

"Oh" said Severus. He stared at the castle in front of them, his mind whirling. He jumped a little when Sirius put his own cloak around his shoulders.

"You're shaking, Sev. Let's go inside." said the boy gently. He helped Severus to his feet and put an arm around his shoulders. Severus leaned against him unconsciously as they walked inside together. Sirius hesitated in the entrance hall for a second.

"This way." said Severus and started to walk towards his quarters. He waved his wand to drop the wards, then pulled them back up when they were both inside. Severus sat by the fire place to get warm. He looked at the plate of cookies still sitting on the coffee table. "You want a cookie?"

Sirius looked up. He had been busing look through Severus' book shelf. "Yeah, sure. Do you want me to make some coffee to go with it?" he asked.

Severus frowned. "That would be nice. The kitchen is through there." he said pointing one of the doors. Sirius must have seen him drinking coffee at some point.

Sirius came back after a few minutes and put two mugs of steaming coffee on the table.

"Thanks." said Severus and handed Sirius his cloak back, then picked up a mug. They drank their coffees in silence for a while.

"I wanted to become a Death Eater." said Severus suddenly. Sirius' eyes widened. "I grew up in a muggle town. I always dreamed of going to Hogwarts and becoming a wizard. But … things didn't work out like I had hoped." Severus paused for a second, gathering his thoughts. "I didn't have much growing up. I wanted to build a future for myself and my mother. I was tired of people dismissing me. I wanted to become powerful, to make everyone respect me. I only changed my mind because of a dream."

"A dream?" asked Sirius, frowning.

Severus nodded. "I had this dream after I got hurt in the shrieking shack. It made me realize the whole think was just a lie. I didn't tell anyone, not even Regulus. They all sensed I wasn't interested anymore after a while." he said and took a sip of his coffee. "Most of them are just trying to please their parents, you know. They have no idea what they're getting themselves into."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." said Sirius sadly.

Severus squeezed his hand. "Don't worry about Regulus. He's thinking about going to Italy after school. There's an old school there for ancient rues. It's in a remote town and it's very secure. He'll be staying there for at least three years to get his Mastery. He'll be safe." he said.

Sirius sighed in relief. "Thank Merlin." he whispered. "So, you still talk to Regulus?" he asked after a minute.

"I don't see him that often. He sometimes comes to see me in the potions lab. I work on my research projects there." explained Severus.

Sirius nodded. "I should go. Do you still want to go to the library this evening?" he asked, standing up.

"Let's just check out the books we need and come work here instead. The library is too crowded."

"Really? This will be much easier. See you at five, then." said Sirius with a grin.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40: The Flames of War

Summary: The Death Eaters attack Hogsmeade.

The day started as an ordinary one. It was the first day of the winter holidays and most of the students were leaving Hogwarts. Severus was in his quarters studying, when he heard an explosion. Through the window he could see a dark cloud forming over Hogsmeade. He sighed in relief as he spotted the Hogwarts express moving away. At that moment the flames in the fireplace turned green and Madam Pomfrey's head poked in.

"Severus, go to the entrance hall quickly! Hogsmeade is under attack." she said urgently before disappearing in the fire.

Severus didn't hesitate. He picked up his emergency bag from the closet and took out his wand before running out. He was the first one reaching the hall since his rooms were on the first floor. He looked out the windows and tried to calm his racing heart. He rushed to open the door as he saw Minerva running towards the castle with half a dozen students in toe.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" asked Severus as he helped the deputy headmistress climb up the last few steps.

"Death Eaters …. Called the Aurors … they're coming." rasped the Professor.

"Is anyone hurt?" repeated Severus.

"No, I don't think so. But the kids could use a calming draft." she answered.

Filius joined them at that moment. "Goodness! Let's close that door." he said.

Severus looked through his bag with shaking hands as Minerva and Filius started to ward the door. He took out two vials of calming draft and started to give each student a swallow while checking them for injuries. He stopped in his tracks when got to the last person. It was James Potter.

"I don't need that! I'm not scared." said the boy defiantly.

"Are you injured?"

"I said I'm fine." snapped Potter.

"Your body's in shock from the explosion. If you don't want the draft, try to calm your breathing." said Severus and put the vials back in his bag.

"Don't tell me what to do! Those are your bloody friends out there, that are …." he trailed off, panting hard.

Severus left him there and went to where Filius and Minerva were standing.

"…. Somehow missed the train. It was a good thing they ran the engine immediately." Minerva was saying.

"Is this everyone who didn't make the train?" asked Severus.

"Yes, the others had already boarded. We used the smoke from the explosion to run." answered Minerva.

"What about the villagers?" asked Filius.

Minerva sighed. "I don't know, Filius. My priority was to bring the children back to school."

Filius took her hand in his own and patted it. "You did the right thing. The Aurors will take care of the rest." he said.

The three of them turned around as they heard Madam Pomfrey's hurried steps, who was floating a few emergency kits in front of her. She put them aside and took a look around before turning to Severus. "Did you check the students for injuries?" she asked.

"Everyone but Potter, he wouldn't let me. I gave the rest of them calming draft, one swallow each." explained Severus. Madam Pomfrey heaved a long suffering sigh before moving to where the boy was sitting on the floor.

A moment later the noise of battle rose from the village, echoing through the school's empty corridors. They could see the light from the spells that were being casted through the windows. Severus felt his chest tightening every time he heard a scream. It didn't take long for Horace and Pomona to join them. The remaining students started showing up as well. Severus felt himself relax as he saw Sirius and Remus walking toward him.

"Severus, do you know what is happening?" asked Remus.

"The Death Eaters attacked the village. The Hogwarts express left before they could do much and Minerva brought the rest of the students inside. I think the Aruros have just arrived." explained Severus. He could feel Potter's gaze on them.

"It … it's going to be alright then, isn't it?" asked Remus uncertainly.

"Yes, everything will be fine." said Severus with confidence he didn't feel.

"Where is Dumbledore?"

"I don't know, Sirius. He might be at the ministry." answered Severus. He turned around as he heard Pomfrey calling him. "I should go, guys. I'm the medical assistant." he said and walked to where the mediwitch was sorting through her equipment.

"A few Aurors are coming this way. Have blood replenishing potion on hand. Do what you can, but if their injury's too serious leaved it for me." she instructed. Severus nodded and took a few vials and bandages out of his bag and put them in his pockets. He could see the Aurors getting closer. A few of them were obviously injured.

"How do we know they're really Aurors?" asked Severus.

"The wards Minerva and I put on the entrance will prevent anyone from entering if they intend to attack us." explained Filius. "Speaking of which, Minerva. Maybe we should gather the students in the great hall." he added, turning to the deputy headmistress.

"Yes, of course. I'll take care of that." answered Minerva and moved away.

By the time the Aurors arrived, most of the students had gone to the great hall. One of the Aurors was bleeding badly. Madam Pomfrey started to work on him immediately. Severus tended to the rest. He cleaned the wounds and put on bandages, the way Pomfrey had showed him, then gave them pain killer and blood replenishing potion. After that he rushed to the other side of the hall, where the mediwitch was working.

"One broken arm, two burns and one cursed wound." he reported.

Pomfrey nodded. "I'm almost done here. Massage the flesh mending potion on his stomach only, then bandage it. I'll check on the rest."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Call me Poppy, will you?" snapped Pomfrey as she walked away. Severus knelt on the floor and started to apply the potion. He looked up when he sensed someone watching him. He smiled as he saw Sirius.

The boy came closer and sat beside him. "Is he going to be fine?" he asked.

"I think so. He's stable."

Sirius nodded. "More Aurors are flooing in." he said. "The anti-apparition wards are up, so they should use the floo. I don't know how many will come. They can't all leave the ministry, but most of them will. Attack on Hogsmeade is a big deal. You know, since it's close to Hogwarts." he rambled on, obviously nervous.

"Hand me a bandage, Sirius." said Severus. He wiped his hands on a cloth and took the bandage. "You should always clean the wound and take care of the bleeding if possible before bandaging." he explained as he worked. "You put a gaze on the wound then wrap the bandage around it. You don't want to wrap it too tight but you should make sure it holds."

"How do you know all this?"

"Pomfrey taught me, last year." answered Severus.

They stopped talking as they saw the Aurors rushing to the hall. Severus recognized Mr. Potter among them. The man talked to one of the injured Aurors for a few minutes before turning to the Professors. "The Aurors have surrounded the Death Eaters, but there's more of them apparating in the forest and the mountains nearby. They're cursing anything that moves. We need your permission and your help to bring the villagers to the castle."

"Of course. We'll do everything we can. Filius and I will come with you. Horace and Pomona can guard the school." answered McGonagall. The other heads of houses nodded.

"I want to come too, dad." said James Potter.

Mr. Potter smiled at his son proudly. "You may come, but you will obey the orders and stay with the group at all times. Understood?" he said sternly, then turned to Severus. "It will be helpful to have medical aid, if you are willing?"

"Dad! We can't take him. The slimy snake might …." whined James.

"Enough, James! No arguing." snapped Mr. Potter, cutting him off. "What do you say, Severus?" he asked.

"I'll come." answered Severus, standing up and gathering his things.

"Me, too." said Sirius. Remus came forward and stood next to them as well.

"Alright. Listen everyone, you are not going there to fight. The Aurors will handle anything that may occur. Just try to guide the civilians to the castle. And remember to stay with the group at all times." instructed Mr. Potter, before opening the door.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Ash and Blood

Summary: Severus and the others bring the villagers to Hogwarts.

Notes: I must warn you. Even though no one dies in this chapter, it's quite upsetting.

...

Severus walked alongside Filius as they passed the school wards. The path to the village was littered with ash, dust and broken pieces of wood. It only got worse as they reached the train station. The explosion had heft a giant hole in the ground on the other side of the railroad. Most of the Aurors hurried forward to join the battle while the rest of them stood behind to search the area.

When they made sure there was no one in the station or the grounds, they moved forward. As they got closer to the cottages, everyone grew quiet. It wasn't easy seeing Hogsmeade like this. The decorations were still up, since they were held in place by magic, but there was nothing left of the Christmas cheer that once filled the village. The breathtakingly white snow had turned to mud and smoke was rising from the torn walls instead of the chimneys. It was as if the Death Eaters had burned their way through the road and had turned everything upside down.

"Listen up everyone. We're going to split into two groups." announced Mr. Potter as they reached the Three Broomsticks. "James, you're with me and Professor McGonagall. We're taking the left side of the road with Aurors Abbott and Coote. Remus, Sirius. You two are with Professor Flitwick and Aurors Hooper and Peakes. And you're searching the right side." he continued, then turned to Severus. "You should stay in the middle and wait for someone to call you."

"Alright." answered Severus. He stood there with the two remaining Aurors who were guarding the road. He didn't wait there for long, though. Filius called him a couple of minutes later from the Three Broomsticks. When Severus entered the pub, he saw Madam Rosmerta crying in a corner. There was an aged witch lying unconscious on one of the tables. Severus checked the woman's pulse first. It was steady but weak. He could see her head was injured. He was examining the wound when Madam Rosmerta stepped closer. "Is she going to be alright?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"I think she has a concussion. I can give her a potion for that and then we'll take her to Madam Pomfrey. " answered Severus and started to look through his bag.

"Thank Merlin. I was so worried. After the explosion, everyone was running to the fire place to floo out. The poor thing fell down. I wanted to take her to the hospital but the ministry closed the floo system." she explained between sobs.

"There, there. She's going to be fine, now." said Filius and put his arm around her waist. "Let's get you to the school, dear." he continued and guided her out.

Severus took out a few vials from his bag and put them on the table. He then picked up a discarded cloak from the floor and gave it to Remus, who was watching him nervously. "Ball this, then put it under her head like a pillow." he instructed and started to check the rest of her body. He swore when he realized one of her legs was broken as well. He uncorked one of the vials and started to pour it down the woman's throat. "You see how I'm doing this? You should do it slowly and massage her throat to make sure it's going down." he said. Remus nodded in answer.

"Here, give her half of the blue one and one swallow from the brown one." said Severus as he handed Remus the vials. He then conjured a few ropes with his wand and started to secure the broken leg. He checked the head wound again after that. The bleeding had stopped due to the healing potion. Severus nodded to himself and started to clean the wound.

"I can bandage it." offered Remus. Severus nodded. He watched Remus work for a second then conjured a stretcher. When they took the woman out of the pub, they saw their group had moved forward. They had also gathered a few civilians to take to Hogwarts. Severus left the floating stretcher with one of the Aurors and ran to the other side of the road, when he saw Minerva waving him over. There were a few people with minor injuries sitting in front of Honeydukes. Severus recognized the shopkeeper among them. He got to work right away and healed them as best as he could with potions.

Severus felt his heart skip a bit as they went farther down the road. There was a cluster of bodies near Zonko's. It looked as if they had been struck from behind. Severus ran as fast as he could and knelt in the mud beside the cluster. He started to check them for pulse.

"I need help!" he yelled after a moment. A couple of Aurors stepped forward. "These two are alive. We should separate them from the bodies." explained Severus.

As the Aurors moved the bodies, Severus took out several vials from his bag. He had just started to work, when he realized the battle was moving towards them. He could hear the noise more clearly and there was more smoke rising in the sky. Severus conjured two stretchers and put his patients on them with some help from the Aurors. At that moment he saw Sirius running towards them.

"Come on. Mr. Potter said we should go back." said the boy and started to help him secure the unconscious men on the stretchers and float them. Severus kept working on his patients as they backed down. The Aurors were all rushing forward to the battle. After a moment they heard Mr. Potter yelling.

"What is happening?" asked Severus without looking up.

"I think James went forward with the Aurors. Merlin! I can't believe he's …."

"Did you hear that?" asked Severus, shushing him. He could hear someone crying.

"It's coming from back there." said Sirius. "Is it a child?"

Severus didn't answer. He turned around as he spotted Minerva. "Minerva! Someone's here." he yelled.

Severus stood on the road as Minerva and Sirius went behind the cottages. They call him a moment later. Severus left the stretchers and joined them. A wall had collapsed and it looked like someone was stuck under the bricks. There was a small girl sitting in Sirius' lap and Minerva was trying to levitate the bricks off of the women lying there. He turned to Sirius first. "Is she hurt?" he asked.

"Her forehead's bleeding but I think she's fine." answered Sirius as he patted the child's back.

"That's not bad, but she's probably been unconscious." said Severus after examining the gash. He found a salve in his emergency kit and handed it to Sirius. "Rub this on her forehead." he said and moved to where Minerva was standing. He turned the trapped woman's head slightly to examine it. The child cried harder as she saw her mother's face and started to call for her.

"Her hand is stuck under a beam, Severus. I'm not sure if I should move it." said Minerva.

"No, we can't move it. It will release poison. We should bring a healer here." answered Severus thoughtfully. Suddenly, a commotion raised. They looked up to see a giant fire snake moving towards them.

"It's Fiendfyre. We have to go." announced Minerva, urgently. Severus hesitated.

"Now, Severus! Come on." said Sirius. He handed the child to Minerva and tried to pull Severus to his feet. Severus pushed him away.

"I have to cut her hand." he said and pulled his wand out of his robe.

"Severus! …"

"It will only take a second. Just hold her." answered Severus. He took a deep breath as he focused on the spell and swished his wand like a sword. Blood sprayed in every direction as flesh and bone ripped apart at once. Severus conjured a stretcher for the fourth time that day and started to chant the counter spell in a singing tone to close up the wound.

Severus didn't know how he got to the school. It was all a blur as they ran along the dirty road, stumbling every few steps. He knew Sirius was pulling his arm the whole way. They all collapsed in exhaustion as they reached the entrance hall. People were running around in every direction. Severus could hear James Potter arguing with his father.

"Severus, are you OK?" asked Sirius.

Severus nodded. "Just … tired." he answered, panting

"You're amazing, you know that?" said Sirius in awe.

Severus chuckled weakly. "How can you say that after seeing me cut off someone's hand with dark magic?" he whispered.

Sirius' lips were on his own as soon as he finished talking. Severus held on to the boy's board shoulders as if his life depended on it and deepened the kiss.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Cutting Spell

Summary: Severus discusses the events of the day with a few people.

Severus' lips were chapped and cold and tasted like dust. Sirius knew his weren't much better. The stench of blood filled his nostrils as Severus pulled him closer but he couldn't bring himself to care. Their kiss was perfect. He moaned in bliss when Severus' hands moved from his shoulders up to his hair and he pulled the boy into his lap.

Their kiss ended all too soon. They jumped apart when McGonagall started to make an announcement. "Guests and students, an early dinner is being served in the great hall. Please follow me." she said.

At the thought of food Sirius' stomach growled. They hadn't eaten since breakfast. Severus chuckled.

"So, I guess we should go eat." said Sirius grinning.

"I have to go change." answered Severus. "I think you should, too." he added after a second. Sirius looked down. They were both covered in blood, now. He sighed and stood up, then pulled Severus to his feet.

"See you in the great hall, then?" asked Sirius hopefully.

"Yeah, … see you." answered Severus awkwardly, then turned to leave.

Sirius ran up the stairs as fast as his tired legs let him. He was so out of breath by the time he got to his dorm, he thought he might pass out. As he took a moment to catch his breath, it dawned on him. This was the first time he was going to eat with Severus, not counting all the times the boy had shared his lunch with Padfoot.

Sirius grinned to himself and started to take off his robes. He then hurried to the bathroom and took a quick shower. He washed his hair as an afterthought and dried himself with a spell, whistling to himself.

By the time Sirius got to the great hall, everyone else was already there. People seemed to be sitting in no particular order. The high table was empty and the teachers were sitting with the others on the house tables. Sirius found Remus, sitting next to Mr. Potter and a few Aurors, but Severus was nowhere to be seen.

Sirius sat next to Remus and nodded to Mr. Potter, who was talking to one of the Aurors. "Where is James?" he whispered to Remus.

"He has a burn from the Fiendfyre. Madam Pomfrey says he'll be fine."

"Why is everyone here? Is the battle over?" asked Sirius nervously.

Remus frowned. "Dumbledore showed up right after we got inside the school. The battle ended then. How did you miss all that?"

Sirius shifted in his sit. "Severus and I, …. we …. we kissed."

"You guys kissed?" asked Remus loudly. Too loudly perhaps, as the Aurors all turned to look at them. Sirius felt himself blush.

Remus and Sirius both jumped as they heard a familiar deep voice. "Hey, guys." said Severus. He sat in front of them. "You haven't eaten? I thought you were hungry." he asked Sirius with a smirk.

"Yeah, … I was just." stuttered Sirius. He cleared his throat. "I was waiting for you."

"Oh, you didn't have to." answered Severus. Sirius blushed harder as he heard the Aurors snickered. Severus was luckily too busy filling his plate to notice anything. They started to talk about the battle, filling each other up on the details. Mr. Potter joined the conversation after a few minutes. "They used some kind of explosive potion. It's a relief they missed the train, as odd as it was." he said.

"What do you mean Mr. Potter?" asked Remus.

"The hole the explosive made in the ground is too far from the railroad and the train wasn't even moving." explained the Auror.

"Maybe it was an accident. They could have dropped it without aiming."

"It's possible, yes." answered Mr. Potter. "You don't looked convinced, Severus." He added after a moment.

Severus shrugged. "Maybe they didn't want to carry out their orders. Most of the students were on that train."

"Regulus was on the train, too." whispered Sirius, his good mood vanishing.

At that moment a Ravenclaw girl interrupted them. "You're Snape, right? One of the healers wants to see you in the infirmary." she said.

"I have to go." said Severus. He stood up and left, leaving his plate half full.

...

Severus looked around as he entered the infirmary. All the beds were full. A few people were working on the Patients, wearing St. Mungo's uniforms.

"Severus Snape?" asked one of them. Severus nodded. The other healers looked up for a moment as if to take a closer look at him.

"Healer Brown is waiting for you in the mediwitch's office." he said before getting back to work.

Severus entered the office, apprehensive. An elderly witch was sitting at the desk looking at a file.

"Healer Brown?" asked Severus.

"Yes, you must be Mr. Snape. Please sit down." said the woman. He studied Severus with intelligent gray eyes. "We used quite a few of your potions today. They are highly effective. You should be proud of your brewing skills." She added.

Severus felt himself relax. "Thank you." he said.

The healer nodded. "I have a feeling you have improved the formulas. I recall reading your paper on potion treatments for werewolves a couple of years ago. You explained a few modifications to the potions."

"You've read my paper?" asked Severus brightly.

"Yes, it was very impressive." the healer answered with a smile. "Do you also have a knack for inventing spells?"

Severus' face fell. "Why do you ask?"

"Professor McGonagall told us you performed a surgery on the battlefield."

Severus swallowed. "She was … she was stuck under a beam. And … and there was fire coming for us. If I had left her, she would have died."

"Yes, I realize that. The deputy headmistress helped us take a look the scene. We were hoping to retrieve the hand and reattach it." explained the healer. "There was nothing left. So I'm certain you made the right decision." She continued.

"So, I'm not in any trouble?" asked Severus, holding his breath.

"No, of course not. We are just curious about the spell you used. You made a clean cut and healed it perfectly. I have been a healer for fifty years Mr. Snape and I have never seen such spell work. So, I'm assuming you've created the spell yourself."

"I did."

"You should consider recording it under your name as a healing spell. I'm sure it will be added to the training curriculum immediately." said healer Brown confidently.

Severus was quiet for a few minutes. "It is basically a dark spell and it's hard to control. The degree of the cut should be considered precisely and the counter spell is long and should be chanted in certain way." he said finally.

The healer nodded. "You need not worry. It will only be taught to our advanced students. They can handle complicated spells such as this one. And they are made to swear not to share their knowledge and use it for healing purposes only."

"I want that in writing." answered Severus.

The healer laughed. "Alright. I think we can arrange that."

...

Sirius went to the infirmary after dinner, hoping to find Severus there. He saw the boy standing by one of the beds. He was about to move closer when he realized Severus was talking to someone. The handsome mediwizard was standing a little too close. Sirius balled his hands into fists when saw the guy put his hand on Severus' arm. He took a deep breath to keep his temper in check and turned to leave. He went out the door and started to walk in the corridor when Severus called his name.

"Sirius! I thought it was you." said Severus, smiling up at him.

"I wanted to talk to you but I can see you're busy." snapped Sirius, unable to control his temper.

Severus frowned. "I was just talking to Andrew. You know, Andrew Parkinson. He graduated when we were third years."

Sirius snorted. "That Ravonclaw perfect? The jerk lived to give us detention."

Severus' expression darkened. "Yeah, that's why I liked him. He was the only perfect beside Lucius who stood up to you lot." he said narrowing his eyes.

"That's it? You kiss me back, then forget all about me? Do you even like me?"

"What the hell is the matter with you, Sirius? I was just talking to him."

"Do you like me?" asked Sirius desperately.

Severus was quiet for a second. "I … I don't know. I think I do."

"Would you go out with me?"

Severus didn't answer. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. Sirius sighed. He took a parcel out of his pocket and handed it to Severus. "It's apple pie. You didn't eat much at dinner." He said quietly.

Severus stared at him for a few more minutes. "Tomorrow. I'll go out with you tomorrow." he said finally.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43: It's Always Summer Somewhere

Summary: Severus and Sirius go on a date.

Severus stood in front of the mirror. He brushed his hair one more time and straightened his freshly pressed robes. He had known Sirius was interested in him for some time and had been waiting for the boy to ask him out, but he couldn't help but feel nervous.

Severus jumped a little when he heard a knock on the door. Sirius was five minutes early. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

Sirius grinned warmly at him. "Hi. You're ready to go?" he asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, sure." answered Severus. His eyes fell on the picnic basket Sirius was holding. "Are we going outside?" he asked, uncertainly. It was five in the afternoon and it had been snowing all day.

"No, it's somewhere inside." said Sirius and offered his arm.

Severus smiled at the sweet gesture and took the boy's muscular arm. When they moved up a few floors, he felt his panic raising. He didn't let go of Sirius' arm but pulled away a little. "We're not going to the Gryffindor tower, are we?" he asked, cursing himself as his voice shook a little.

Sirius stopped suddenly and frowned. "No, we're going to the seventh floor. There's this amazing room there I wanted to show you." he said and squeezed Severus' hand reassuringly. "It's really great, but we can go somewhere else if you want." he continued. There was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Severus relaxed a little. "No, it's fine. I'm curious to see this mysterious room, now." he answered and they started to walk again.

When they finally reached the seventh floor, Sirius left him in a corner and started to pace the corridor. He seemed to be focusing on something and his lips moved as he whispered to himself. Severus was intrigued. He watched in awe as a door appeared in the blank wall and stepped closer. Sirius opened the door a little and snuck a peak, before opening it all the way and gesturing for Severus to come closer.

Severus' mouth fell open in amazement when he saw what was inside. "It's summer in here!" he said and walked around the large space. There were trees lining up the walls. The ceiling showed a clear sky and the floor was covered with grass and leaves. There was a large oak tree in the middle with a small lake next to it. Severus ran his hand on the tree trunk and smiled warmly at Sirius.

"This is unbelievable! Did you make this happen by concentrating? How does it work?"

"It's called the room of requirement or the come and go room. It takes the shape of the space you need. The house elves told me about it when I said I needed somewhere special for our date. Do you like it?"

"I love it! I love summer." answered Severus. He couldn't stop smiling. "So, you imagined all of this when you were walking in the corridor?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, you focus on what you need and walk three times in front of the wall until the door appears." explained Sirius. "Let's sit down." he added as he put a blanket under the tree.

Severus took off his battered boots and put them next to Sirius' shiny ones. He watched the boy put a few sandwiches and some pumpkin juice on the blanket and leaned back against the tree. They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Sirius cleared his throat. "Can you tell me a little about yourself, Severus? I don't know much."

"What do you want to know?"

"I've been wandering. How come you ended up working at that bar last year?" asked Sirius.

Severus frowned. "I needed money." he answered shortly.

"No, I mean how did you get a job like that? Most of the wizards don't even know how to dress like muggles, but you seem to know a lot about them." explained Sirius.

Severus stared at him in confusion. "I grew up in a muggle neighborhood. Lily's family lived near us, that's how we became friends. Didn't she ever tell you that?"

"No, she didn't." said Sirius. "Our house was in a muggle neighborhood, too. But I was never allowed to go out. You're lucky your parents let you find a friend. You must have had a lot of fun."

"Not really. Our neighborhood wasn't nearly as nice as yours and I wasn't allowed to talk to the other kinds, not even in school. They were afraid people might find out about my magic. I only talked to Lily because I saw her doing magic in the park. I just sat in the bushes and watched her for a few days before telling her she was a witch."

"So, Lily was the one who told you about how muggle things work and stuff?"

Severus snorted. "No, I think Lily only became friends with me because she wanted to know about magic." he admitted. "My dad was a muggle. I grew up in a muggle house."

"Really?" asked Sirius with a grin. "I've always wanted to see what a muggle house is like." he said in awe.

"I've always wanted to know what a ball is like." Severus blurted out. He blushed when Sirius turned to look at him. "I've never been to one." he said quietly and started to play with the edge of the blanket. "Lucius invited me a few times but I never went. He told me I could borrow one of his old dress robes, but I was afraid someone might find out or that I'd do something stupid in front of everyone."

"You didn't miss anything special. It's just a bunch of snooty people wearing stupid clothes and dancing." said Sirius. Severus didn't answer. "You want to hear the story of how I ruined my parents' yule ball when I was eight?" Sirius tried again after a few minutes. Severus nodded.

With that Sirius started to tell him about all the times he had made trouble as a child. All the balls and dinner parties he had ruined and the important people he had offended. Severus couldn't help but laugh at some of them. He could easily imagine a tiny Sirius, rude and mischievous, saying inappropriate things at dinner or spiking the punch bowl and making everyone throw up.

It was pretty late by the time they finished their picnic. Sirius insisted on walking with him all the way to the first floor. "I had a lot of fun, today." said Severus as they reached his quarters. "It was nice to get away with everything that's going on."

"It fun for me, too. Maybe we can do it again?" asked Sirius hopefully.

"Yeah, sure. But we have to start studying. We've already missed two days." said Severus in a no nonsense tone. "Why don't you and Remus come here tomorrow? We can have breakfast together while we work."

"Alright. I'll tell Remus." answered Sirius. He hesitated for a second then gave Severus a gentle kiss goodbye.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Exchanging Gifts

Summary: Severus exchanges Christmas gifts with Remus and Sirius.

Sirius loved Severus' quarters. It smelled of coffee and parchment and everything was always tidy. Remus and him had been studying there every day. Sirius had never been in the bedroom, though. He really wanted to take their relationship to the next level but he didn't say anything, afraid of scaring off his boyfriend. They did almost everything else, like kissing and holding hands.

All too soon the Christmas Eve arrived. They were all in the living room and for once they weren't studying. Sirius was sitting on the couch with his arms around Severus. The boy was leaning against his side, with his long legs stretched on the couch as they listened to Remus talk about the repairs in Hogsmeade.

"Some of the shops are already open. Like the Three Broomsticks and the Honeydukes, but the Fiendfyre burned half the village, so they have to rebuild a few of the cottages." Remus was saying. "Can you imagine having your house burned down right before Christmas? It's nice that they have volunteers and ministry employees to help them."

"I bet Mr. Harrison's cottage burned, too. At least we got them out before the fire started." said Sirius.

"Who's Mr. Harrison?" asked Severus curiously.

"He has a bakery. Well, had a bakery. We rented the flat above his shop last summer and Remus worked there." explained Sirius.

Severus smiled. "Really? So, you know how to make bread and stuff?" he asked.

"I can make the dough for almost anything, but not much else." answered Remus, then sighed. "It really liked working there."

"Yeah, it was great. He always came home with a bag of sweats and our flat smelled like bread and chocolate."

"You guys are making me hungry. I'm going to make some tea." said Severus and made to get up but Sirius didn't let go.

"We don't need tea." said Sirius and kissed Severus' temple, making him chuckle.

"I'll do it." announced Remus with a sigh and hurried to the kitchen.

"I can't believe you're leaving." whispered Sirius in Severus' hair.

Severus turned in his arms and looked him in the eyes. "It's just for Christmas day. I'm staying for dinner tonight and I'll be back the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah, but the others are going to be back, soon. When they do, it won't be like this anymore."

"We'll make it work." said Severus reassuringly. Then put his hands in Sirius' hair and pulled him in a kiss. Sirius kissed him back hungrily and pulled the boy in his lap. Severus must have felt his erection. He shifted a little but didn't break the kiss.

He did move away when they heard Remus come in. "I thought you'd be done by now." said Remus, smirking.

"Sorry." mumbled Severus before moving out of Sirius' lap.

Remus busied himself with pouring the tea while they composed themselves. He looked up a few minutes later. "So, can we give you your presents, now?" he asked Severus. "We thought we should do it before dinner, since you're not here Christmas day."

"Alright. Let me go get yours." answered Severus and disappeared in his bedroom. He came back a second later holding two wrapped packages and sat next to Sirius. His smile fell when he saw the look on Sirius' face.

"I really want to be there on Christmas day, Sirius." he said.

"I know. I'm sorry. I understand that you want to see your parents. Just because I don't get along with mine, doesn't mean you can't see yours. I'm just going to miss you." he explained, and took Severus' hand in his own.

"I didn't say I was visiting my parents." said Severus quietly. "My mom isn't there and … and my dad died last year before Christmas."

"I'm so sorry, Severus." said Remus after a few minutes of silence.

"That's why you left early last year." commented Sirius. He could remember seeing Severus in Hogsmesde with Slughorn.

Severus nodded. "I'm going to see my dad's friend and his wife. They helped me a lot last year and they're really lonely. I only saw them once in the summer, since I wasn't allowed to leave the school."

"What did you get them for Christmas?" asked Remus.

Severus perked up. "I got them a new TV set. I hope it has arrived. They were supposed to deliver it last week." he answered.

"What's a TV?" asked Sirius, frowning.

Severus didn't answer right away. It seemed like he was trying to hold in his laughter. "TV is short for television." he said. "You know, the device muggles have. It looks like a box and people sit in front of it and watch programs and films." he added when he saw their confused looks.

"Ah! You mean a telly." said Sirius in triumph.

This time Severus did laugh. Sirius didn't mind. He liked making Severus laugh. "Yes, a telly. Is that what you boys call it at muggle studies?"

"Yep!" answered Sirius with a grin. It made Severus laugh more, until his eyes watered.

"Open my gift first." said Remus as he put a package in Severus' hand.

Severus wiped his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at the gift. He smiled warmly at Remus. "Looks like a book." he said and opened the wrapping carefully. There was a notebook inside, filled with handwritten notes.

"That's my father's. He had been trying to find a cure for me since I was five. He gave up when I was third year. I thought you could use his notes, since you're working on werewolves." explained Remus.

"This is amazing." said Severus as he leafed through the notebook. "Are you sure you want to give this to me?" he asked.

"Yeah, I thought a lot about it. I want you to have it. Maybe you can do it one day." answered Remus.

Severus smiled widely and handed Remus his present. There was a book inside. 'Grimms' Fairy Tales' said the title. "Thank you, Severus, I love fairy tells."

"There was a copy of that in our school library, when I was a kid. I thought you could read it when you're in bed after the full moon." said Severus.

"Alright, it's my turn!" said Sirius. He pulled a large package out of his bag and put it on Severus' lap. He held his breath as his boyfriend opened the wrapping. Severus looked up at him with a half-smile when he read the store's name on the box, then lifted the lead. He ran his delicate fingers on the navy blue fabric before taking the cloak out of the box. "This is …" he said as he examined the silver trimming on the edges. "This is the nicest cloak I've ever seen. You must have spent a fortune on it."

"It wasn't that expensive. I wanted to get you something you can use. Do you like it? We can change it if you want or have it …"

"I love it. It's perfect." said Severus, cutting him off and brushed their lips briefly together. "Here, open mine." he said excitedly.

Sirius opened his present. There was a box inside, with the picture of something electronic on it, along a few smaller boxes. Only one of them looked familiar. "These are batteries, right?" he asked, holding his gift awkwardly.

"Yes, batteries. They go into the cassette player." answered Severus.

"The what?" asked Remus.

For a moment it looked like Severus was going to laugh again. "It's for playing music. These are cassettes. There's music recorded on them." he said pointing at the small boxes. "Here, let me show you how it works." he added after putting his cloak away.

Sirius had never seen anything so fascinating. They spent the rest of the afternoon listening to music and drinking tea.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45: End of Christmas

Summary: Severus and Sirius have Christmas dinner at the great hall and meet each other December 27th.

By the time Severus, Sirius and Remus got to the great hall for Christmas dinner, everyone else was already seated. Severus felt Dumbledore's eyes on him as they moved to the table. Severus and Sirius sat together and Remus took the empty sit between Filius and Mrs. March, the librarian.

Severus busied himself with the food. He had never seen a feast like this. He smiled when Sirius took his hand in his own and kissed the boy on the cheek. A few people gasped. Severus blushed, he had almost forgotten they weren't alone. Dumbledore was glaring draggers at him, along with James Potter who was sitting at the Headmaster's left. The others just looked surprised.

Sirius squeezed his hand reassuringly before letting go. Everyone got back to their dinner after a while but they kept looking in their direction. After a few minutes of silence Dumbledore cleared his throat. "James, my boy. I am very glad to see you have recovered so quickly. It's good to have our head boy here for Christmas."

Potter shrugged. "I was out of bed the first day, Professor. It was just a burn." he said dismissively.

"The damage might have been small, but you should never undermine the power of dark forces. Fiendfyre is one of the darkest spells there is. It takes great deal of courage to face it."

"That's what my father said." said Potter bitterly. "That someone without the right training shouldn't join a battle. That I should have left with the others and let the Aurors do their job." he added, stabbing his potatoes with a fork.

Dumbledore sighed dramatically. "People who are brave at heart can't turn their backs in the face of evil. Your father has fought in quite a few battles himself. But as a parent he is trying to keep you from harm. Parents' love for their children can cloud their judgment. It's their biggest weakness." he said, shaking his head.

Potter looked up sharply at that. "My father isn't weak!" he snapped. "He's the best Auror in the country. He knows I'm brave enough, he just doesn't want me to fight without the proper training." he continued defiantly.

Severus smirked to himself when he saw the shock on Dumbledore's face. He was gleeful at seeing his two least favorite people in the world at odds.

"I'm sure the Headmaster didn't mean that." said McGonagall. "Of course, he isn't weak. I know your father from my school days. I'm sure he's proud of you and after you complete your Auror training, he'll be happy to have you fight by his side." she continued, looking at the boy fondly.

The dinner was pretty much uneventful after that, but the tension never left the room.

...

Sirius was sitting against the wall, near Severus' quarters. Christmas day had been tense with James back in the dorm. Sirius and Remus had spent most of the day outside. At some point they had seen James watching them, from near Hagrid's hut.

It must have been hard for him to spend Christmas day in Hogwarts like this. James wasn't used to being alone, he had his loving family and his friends and admirers around all the time. He must have had a fight with his father to end up there. Sirius couldn't help but feel bad for his old friend. James was immensely selfish but he was the reason Sirius, the heir to a family as dark as the Blacks, had been able to find friends and be accepted in Gryffindor. The Potters were a highly respected and influential family in the wizarding world and their word went a long way. It didn't matter now, Sirius thought. He couldn't be friends with someone who looked down at everyone and was this nasty to Severus.

He didn't know how long he sat there thinking, until he heard Severus' footsteps. The boy smiled when he saw him, like he always did. "Hey! What are you doing here this early?" he asked as he pulled Sirius to his feet.

Sirius missed no time in giving his boyfriend a passionate kiss. Severus chuckled as they parted. "I guess, you did miss me." he teased. "I missed you, too. Come on. let's go inside." he said as he pulled his wand out of the pocket of his muggle jacket and dropped the wards.

There were a few wrapped gifts on the coffee table. Severus hung his jacket and blue scarf before sitting down next to the fire. He was wearing a wool jumper underneath with a geometric pattern woven in three shades of olive green.

"Nice jumper." observed Sirius.

"It's cashmere. Mr. Johnson knitted it herself." said Severus, looking down at his jumper. "They gave me hell about spending my money on the … telly, but they liked it. How was your Christmas day?" he asked.

"Not bad. Remus and I had a pretty violent snow fight, then we built a snow squid by the lake." answered Sirius.

Severus laughed. "Good thing you got that out of your system." he said and started to open his presents.

There was a box of fudge from Regulus and dragon hide gloves from Slughorn. Severus opened a gift from the rest of the teachers next. "It's coffee." he said as he brought the package to his nose and exhaled deeply. "I bet it was expensive." he continued and took out a couple of the coffee bins to examine them.

Sirius' eyes fell on the last package while Severus was busy with the coffee and he felt his stomach turn to knots. "Why is Andrew Parkinson sending you a Christmas present?" he asked, frowning.

Severus put the coffee away and took the small parcel out of Sirius' hands. There was some kind of herb inside. He shrugged, admiring the green leaves. "He was good friends with Lucius, so we were kind of friends and we talked that day in the infirmary. I didn't send him anything, though. Maybe I should have."

"Why would you do that?" snapped Sirius.

Severus frowned. "Why does he bother you so much?"

"Because,… You two were flirting."

Severus crossed his arms over his chest. "I wasn't flirting."

Sirius stood up and started pacing. "Fine, but he was flirting with you. He touched your arm!"

Severus stood up as well. "He was just telling me about his healing curriculum. Even if he was flirting, what does it matter? I don't like him that way." he said with a sigh. "I was actually going to meet him later this week. I'm doing something for St. Mungo's and I need his help."

"You can't go meet him! I don't want him flirting with you."

"Really, Sirius?" snapped Severus. "Girls flirt with you all the time. Does that mean I have to worry?"

"No!" answered Sirius quickly. "Of course not!"

"Then why can't you trust me the way I trust you?" asked Severus, hurt lacing every word.

Sirius looked into his boyfriend's dark eyes and felt his anger draining. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I trust you, I really do. It's just … What if he kisses you or something?" he asked.

"Then I'll tell him I have a boyfriend and I'm not interested."

"What if he doesn't back down?"

"Then I'll cut his hand off!" snapped Severus. "Do you really think I'm helpless? I'm not. And I'm sure he would never do something like that. I trust him. That's why I want to ask his help on that thing with St. Mungo's." he continued.

Sirius sighed. "Alright, I'm sorry." he said. "Are you going to tell me what this business with the hospital is all about?" he asked.

Severus smiled. "Make me some of this expensive coffee and I'll tell you." he said.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Planning the Future

Summary: Slughorn tells Severus some unsettling news.

The news of Severus and Sirius' relationship spread through the school like wildfire, not that they were trying to keep it a secret. They spent most of their time together and they weren't shy about showing their affection for each other. Most of the girls at school hated him now for landing the most handsome boy in the school, as if he had robbed them of their happiness. The Slytherins weren't happy about him being with a blood traitor, either and they were vocal in showing their displeasure.

Severus didn't care that much about what other people thought of him, but he could do without the gossip and accusing looks. He was too busy to deal with this. He spent the first week of the new term correcting the students' holiday potion homework and he was busy with the brewing the second week, since they had used up most of the school's potion supply after the battle in Hogsmeade.

It was Wednesday afternoon. Severus left the defense against the dark arts class with Remus and Sirius. They all headed for Severus's rooms, like they usually did.

"This is so frustrating!" said Severus when they got inside. "Two weeks and still nothing."

"You're the one to talk! The mist you made was bigger than everybody else's" answered Sirius and followed Severus to the small kitchen to help with the tea tray.

When they got back to the living room, Remus was already seated. "You heard what Professor Jordan said, it can take months to master the patronus charm and not everyone can do it." he said.

Severus snorted. "Jordan's an idiot. There's no reason we can't learn it. Some people probably just give up on practicing." he said confidently and started to pour the drinks.

"So, how did it go with Andrew?" asked Sirius a few minutes later.

"Good. He said I have to ask for a separate brewing lab, so that no one can take credit for my work." answered Severus, leaning back against the couch.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Remus.

"Severus is going to work for St. Mungo's this summer." answered Sirius.

"Really? That's great." said Remus. He seemed genuinely happy and a little envious.

"I'll be adjusting the potions, based on their research and I'll probably be doing some general brewing, too. It's a great opportunity."

"I wish I could work at St. Mungo's. I've always wanted to be a healer. I mean, I know it can't happen but that's what I would have done if I could." said Remus.

They were all quiet for a second. "You can't sign up for the healer training, but that doesn't mean you can't work there. I bet Poppy would take you on as an apprentice if you ask and you can volunteer at St. Mungo's in the summer." said Severus.

"I don't know, Severus."

"If it's what you really want, you shouldn't let your condition stop you from going after it."

"He's right, Moony. You can do it. Who knows, things could change for werewolves in a few years." added Sirius.

"Maybe you're right. It means a lot to me that you guys think I can do it." said Remus.

Severus drain his mug and stood up. "I should go check on the skele gro. You guys stay. I'll be back in half an hour." he announced as he turned to leave.

….

Severus stirred the potion five times clockwise, then added one more scarab beetle to the cauldron and adjusted the heat. He was about to open the lab's door to leave, when he heard Professor Slughorn arguing with someone. Severus backed away from the door as recognized Dumbledore's voice. He busied himself with arranging the ingredients and cleaning his work table until he heard the Headmaster leave.

When Severus stepped into Horace's office, the Professor was pouring himself a glass of fire whiskey. Not much of the whiskey ended up in the glass as the man's hand shook. Severus rushed forward and took the bottle. "Let me do that, Horace." he said.

Horace sat heavily on one of the armchairs and buried his face in his hands. Severus poured the whiskey and put the glass in the man's hands.

"You weren't listening, were you?" asked Horace after taking a sip. Severus shook his head as he sat down on the other armchair.

"He wants me to quit. What the hell am I supposed to do if I lose my job, here? I'm too old to start over somewhere else and Merlin knows I'm not fit to stand by a cauldron all day." said the Professor.

"Dumbledore wants you to quit? He can't do that. You're a senior staff member and head of house. He can't make you do anything you don't want to."

Horace took a large sip of his drink. "He has something on me." he said and stared at somewhere in the space. "Tom Riddle, the current dark Lord was a student of mine."

"The dark Lord Voldemort?"

"Yes. Brilliant boy. He had it all, good looks, charm, natural power. Albus was the only teacher who didn't like him." he continued, a look of nostalgia settling on his face. "The boy asked me about something dark once and I answered his questions. Apparently in Hogsmeade he had confronted Albus and bragged that one of Albus' own teachers had helped him achieve undefeatable power. I've denied it, of course, but Albus knows I'm lying. I'm the only teacher left in the school from Tom's school years, after all. He wants me to hand in my resignation by the end of the year."

"He's going to want you back." said Severus after a few minutes of silence. "It's not that easy to find a potion Professor. Being able to control one cauldron while brewing is one thing, keeping an eye on a dozen of them is another story. He must realize that."

"He does. That's why he wants you."

"Me?" asked Severus in shock. "You know I'd never take your job, Horace. Not after everything you have done for me." he said earnestly. "I'm more fit for research anyway."

Horace sighed. "Perhaps it would be better if I leave. I'd probably go crazy without all of you kids around to keep me company, but I do have enough money saved to live comfortably." he said quietly. "It's not like I can handle the extra work when you're gone."

"I'll come by and help with the brewing any time I can. I promise."

"I'll hold you up to that, lad." said Horace with a half-smile. "You better get back to your studies. Just remember, Albus doesn't give up that easily and he usually gets what he wants."


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47:Sharing the Burden

Summary: Severus tells Sirius about Dumbledore's plans.

Notes: Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Dear gginsc, brighteyes343, Vengeance-Angel2010, TigerWolf, kagewolf25, Suzululu4moe, Fenris Jin, SherryGabs and the rest of you guys, thank you for your support.

...

The first thing Sirius noticed when he woke up was the fact that he was not sleeping in his own bed, the curtains were dark blue instead of red and the pillows were softer. It only took a moment for him to realize where he was; he was in Severus' bedroom. Sirius grinned to himself as he remembered the night before. They had just finished working on their transfiguration project. Sirius had leaned forward and kissed Severus. The rest was a blur. He couldn't even remember how they had gotten to the bedroom.

Suddenly another thought struck him, Severus wasn't in the bed. 'Where is he?' Sirius blinked, he could hear someone breathing hard. He sat up in bed and grinned again. Severus was on the floor doing push-ups and he was only wearing bottoms. It was one of the hottest things Sirius had ever seen. He sat still and watched the way Severus' muscles moved and the sweat that was running on his pale skin.

All too soon it was over. Severus lay on the floor for a second to catch his breath, then sat up on the beige carpet. "When did you wake up?" he asked, still panting.

Sirius leaned forward and kissed him before answering. "A few minutes ago." he said and put his hand on Severus' cheek. "You're gorgeous, you know." he added, looking into Severus' eyes.

Severus frowned and pulled away. He stood up without saying anything and disappeared in the bathroom. Sirius sat there dumbstruck. 'What did I do wrong?' he wondered. Severus couldn't be upset about him watching the push-ups, he didn't seem to be mad at first. Sirius sighed as he heard the shower running. He wished he could be in the other room.

Severus came out of the bathroom completely dressed. "There's a towel in there if you want to take a shower." he said before leaving the room again. Sirius showered quickly. He found Severus in the kitchen, making coffee.

"Why are you angry? What did I do?" asked Sirius.

"I'm not angry." answered Severus, scowling.

"You're upset, I can tell. What's wrong?" Sirius tried again.

Severus didn't answer at first. He took two mugs out of the cupboard and filled them with coffee before turning to Sirius. "You didn't do anything. Just don't say things you don't mean. I'm not some guy you have to seduce, I'm your boyfriend." he said finally.

Sirius frowned, trying to understand what Severus was talking about. The boy picked up his own mug and went out of the kitchen. Sirius picked up the other mug and followed him to the living room, as he remembered what he had said. "Because I called you gorgeous? But I did mean it."

"Don't lie, Sirius." snapped Severus. "Do you know how many times you have called me ugly?" he continued with a glare.

Sirius sat next to his boyfriend on the couch. "Look, Sev. I know I have said some horrible things in the past. I shouldn't have made fun of you, and … you look different, now."

"I still have a big nose and spidery legs." answered Severus quietly.

"Your legs aren't spidery. They're beautiful." said Sirius, taking Severus' hand "And nobody calls you ugly anymore, except for James. But he's an idiot." he said, seriously. Severus smirked at that in spite of himself. "I really meant what I said. Do you have any idea, how hot you look when you do push-ups?" continued Sirius.

Severus smiled. "Sorry I made things weird."

"It's OK." said Sirius, squeezing Severus' hand reassuringly. "You've been kind of tense these past few days."

Severus took a sip of his coffee. "Slughorn said something that's worrying me." he said, running his finger at the edge of the mug. "This summer, Dumbledore wanted me to quit school …"

"He what?!"

"He was going to make me take four of my NEWTs to get qualified for becoming the school's potions brewer. He told the school board that it was the only way to keep me safe and get me out of the Slytherin dormitory. I only found out because Hagrid slipped."

"How did you get out of it?"

"Horace helped me. He set up the whole thing about me becoming the teaching assistant. Now he's telling me Dumbledore is forcing him to quit, so that he can hire me instead."

"Can't you just say no?" asked Sirius. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Severus shook his head. "He didn't ask my opinion last time. He's going to find a way to force me into it." he answered.

"What are you going to do?"

"There's nothing I can do. I just have to be careful." said Severus. "The only advantage I have is that Dumbledore doesn't know I'm on to him." he continued, standing up. Sirius watched as Severus took a quill out of his robes' pocket and handed it to him.

"What's this?"

"Dumbledore put a tracking charm on my wand. Filius was with me when I showed my wand to Ollivander. He pushed the charm into this quill." he said and sat back down. "This is how far Dumbledore is willing to go."

Sirius nodded as he put the quill down and picked up his coffee. He drained his mug, deep in thought. Suddenly, he remembered something. "You can't leave the school alone." he blurted out. "I mean …. You had to get out of the school with one of the teachers when Hogsmeade was under attack." he added quickly.

Severus frowned. "Dumbledore adjusted the wards. I can only leave with him or one of the heads of houses."

"We should find a way to reverse it. I bet one of the teachers can help."

"I can't ask Horace. Dumbledore's probably keeping an eye on him." said Severus, running a hand through his hair. "I'll ask Filius." he said, nodding to himself.


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48: The Black Dog

Summary: Severus and Sirius both conjure a full patronus for the first time.

Notes: When I was first posting this story in "archiveofourown", I asked the readers to help me choose Severus' patronus in chapter 39. A lot of people left comments and made suggestions. Here's the results from our little survey:

Felidae (cat family): Cat (2), African Serval (1), Panther (29), Jaguar (3), Cheetah (1)  
Canines: Fox (16), Red Wolf (3), Mythical Dog (1), Black Dog; Sirius' (23), Dog (2)  
Birds: Crow (4), Eagle (3), Raven (4), falcon (2), Phoenix (1)  
Weasels: Badger (2), Mongoose (1)  
Insects: Butterfly (1)  
Thestral (3), Horse (1)  
Bat (2)

As you can see panther got the most votes and that's Severus' patronus in this story. Eventhough I left the choice to my readers entirely, I think it's a good fit. Here's a quote from 'whats-your-sign' website, about the symbolic meaning of panther:

"The panther animal totem is a very powerful and protective presence. If you have this creature as your totem, you are blessed to have such a fierce and aggressive guardian with you.  
The panther is a symbol of courage, valor and power. The panther has also sometimes associated with the sun, and solar vibrancy in some cultures (South American, and Central American).  
Individuals with panther totems are usually people who come into this world with a spiritual knowing - a deeper understanding of spiritual things. These people often are very intuitive, psychic, and many are artistically inclined."

Bravery, power and protectiveness are things that are usually associated with Severus. You guys know that in this story he likes summer, so the part about relating to the sun works here, too. And the part about spiritual awareness can represent his visions.

Anyways, I'm very interested in knowing what you guys think Severus' patronus should be. Let me know what you think. I hope you like the new update.

...

Severus and Sirius were on their way to the defense against the dark arts classroom. Remus was in the infirmary since last night had been the full moon. "How's Remus?" asked Severus.

"He's fine. He was readying that book you gave him this morning, but he should be asleep now. He's always tired when he's sick."

"You look tired, too." observed Severus.

Sirius shrugged. "I didn't get much sleep last night." he said as he rubbed at his eyes. "Did you talk to the Professor?"

"I did. Turned out Dumbledore didn't tell them he had adjusted the wards. They knew I wasn't supposed to leave the school alone, but they didn't know about the rest." said Severus. "We went outside to check if the wards are actually there. When I tried to cross them on my own, they pushed me back in."

"So, is he going to help you?" asked Sirius anxiously.

"I think so. He said he's not sure how to cancel them, but he's going to try." answered Severus. He squeezed Sirius' hand. "Worst case scenario, he'll help me cross them when it's time to leave." he said reassuringly.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, everything will be fine." he said, more to himself than to Severus.

The two of them sat in front of the class. Severus could see his boyfriend was still worried. "I bet I can do it this time." he whispered.

"What? You mean the patronus?" asked Sirius, grinning.

Severus nodded. "I kind of did it last night." he said.

"Could you tell what it was?" asked Sirius eagerly. Severus nodded again. "Well?!"

"You have to wait and see." said Severus, smirking.

When Professor Jordan arrived, he pushed the chairs aside and they all started to practice the patronus charm. The air filled with silvery mist as the students started to chant. Severus closed his eyes for a second and tried to remember his third birthday. He imagined himself sitting on his father's shoulders, giggling and playing with the man's big ears. "Expecto patronum!" he said.

A silver creature appeared from the end of his wand. First the front paw touched the ground and then the back feet as a panther gracefully stood before him. Severus smiled to Sirius as the panther started to run around the classroom. The patronus ran around the room a few times with unbelievable speed, then leap out the window. Nobody moved for a second, they all seemed mesmerized by what they have seen.

"A panther! Very impressive Mr. Snape. Great job." said Professor Jordan. That seemed to break the spell and the students got back their practicing.

Sirius grinned from ear to ear and started to chant the spell with new found confidence. Severus watched as a huge furry dog burst out of his boyfriend's wand. The dog barked and wiggled its tail playfully before moving around the room. Severus frowned. The patronus reminded him of someone but he couldn't put his finger on it. He looked up and stared at Sirius for a second, taking in his curly black hair and friendly face. A moment later, Sirius' blue gray eyes met his and suddenly he knew.

Severus stormed out. His heart burned with hurt and betrayal as he walked mindlessly in the corridors. He found himself in front of the staffroom and pushed the door open. Minerva and Filius were sitting by the fire, talking. They both jumped as he opened the door.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Severus.

"We left the students readying from their text books. I was talking to Minerva about what you told me this morning." answered Filius. "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Yeah, I had defense but …. I left in the middle of class."

Filius raised an eyebrow. "You left the class? What happened?"

"I was upset." answered Severus quietly.

"Lovers' quarrel?" asked Minerva, knowingly.

Severus pretended he hadn't heard that. He sat on one of the empty chairs. "So, you guys were talking about the wards?" he asked.

Filius was about to answer when the door opened again.

"Severus! There you are. Listen …" said Sirius, he stopped talking when he realized Severus wasn't alone.

Severus pursed his lips and glared at Sirius for a moment, making him squirm. "We're talking about the wards. Sit down." he ordered, then turned to Minerva and Filius. "He already knows. He overheard me talking to a dog." he said. The two Professors looked at each other in confusion.

Sirius blushed. He sat down awkwardly next to Severus. "Here, you left this." he said handing Severus his bag. "It shocked me when I picked it up." he continued.

Severus took Sirius' hand with a frown and examined it. There was no sign of injury. "You'll live." he said coldly as he let go. His frown deepened when he heard Minerva chuckle.

Minerva cleared her throat. "About the wards … I think we should talk to the Headmaster. He can't imprison one of the students inside the castle. It might have been a wise decision during the summer, but now it seems extreme. Professor Dumbledore must have forgotten about the wards. I'm sure he'll take them down if we ask him."

"No, we can't tell him. He might take them down if you ask, but what if he puts something stronger, later? I can't risk that."

"Severus, you're being silly. Why in the world would he do such a thing?" asked Minerva.

"Perhaps it's silly but I rather be safe than sorry." said Severus.

Minerva opened her mouth to protest, but Filius put a hand on her arm. "He's right, Minerva."

"Seriously? You actually believe this nonsense?"

"He has a reason to be paranoid. I know for a fact that Albus had put a tracking charm on his wand."

"What?!"

"He had my wand over the summer. I could feel something was wrong when I got it back, so I took it to Ollivander. Filius was there, too. Ollivander said there was a tracking charm on my wand and I think he recognized Dumbledore's magical signature on it." explained Severus.

"He took your wand." whispered Minerva to herself. She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment. "There are a few books in the Headmaster's office about the school wards. I have access to them as the deputy. I'll find the counter spell." she said finally.

"Thank you, Minerva. You have no idea how much I appreciate that." said Severus sincerely. Minerva nodded in answer.

"We better get going." announced Filius as he got to his feet and offered a hand to the transfiguration Professor. "With some luck, all the students will still be breathing by the time we get to our class." he continued.

The room grew quiet as the two Professors left. Severus started to play with the edge of his sleeve.

"Well, that turned out fine." said Sirius lamely. Severus didn't say anything. "I … I really like your patronus." he tried again.

Severus turned to him sharply. "How could you do this?!" he bellowed.

"I'm sorry, Severus. If you just let me explain ….."

"What is there to explain?!" snapped Severus. "I talked to that dog every day and played with him. I thought he was my friend and now I find out it had been you all along. I still put out food for him every morning like a moron!"

"I was just trying to watch over you, I swear. I was afraid someone might try to hurt you and then … That day by the lake, you looked really upset and I came over to cheer you up and … and I kept coming back because I wanted to spend time with you. I've been smitten with you since you kicked my ass in billiards. And I could tell you were lonely, that you needed someone to talk to." explained Sirius.

Severus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I did but that's not the point. What you did is like … reading someone else's diary." he said, feeling his anger vanishing. "The worst part is that you didn't tell me the truth yourself. Were you ever planning to tell me?"

Sirius dropped his eyes. "Not really. I was afraid of how you would react." he admitted. "Can you forgive me?"

Severus lifted Sirius' chin and smiled. "I want to stay mad but I can't help myself. I'm smitten with you, too." he said. Sirius grinned in response and pulled him into a kiss.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Outsider

Summary: Severus is curious about Sirius' animagus ability.

They got back to the defense classroom after a while. Sirius told Professor Jordan that Severus hadn't been feeling well and had gone out for some fresh air. They didn't get a chance to talk again until after dinner. Severus started asking questions as soon as they settled in his living room.

"So, you're an animagus. When did that happen?"

"Sixth year."

"But, you're not registered." said Severus knowingly.

"No … no, I'm not." answered Sirius. He busied himself with pouring coffee. He wasn't comfortable talking about this.

"Did you know that achieving the animagus transfiguration automatically qualifies you for a Mastery course in any university you want?" asked Severus.

"Really?" asked Sirius, his eyes lighting up. "That's great."

"Well, you have to register to make it happen."

Sirius' face fell. "Oh." was all he managed to answer.

Severus frowned, but didn't say anything for a second. "So, you want to get a Mastery in transfiguration?" he asked finally.

Sirius sighed in relief at the change in subject. "Yeah. I don't know what I would do with it, yet but it's the only subject I really like."

"You must have worked really hard to find out how to do it." said Severus, thoughtfully. "How long did it take?" he asked.

Sirius took a long sip from his coffee. "Three years I think. We … I started in third year."

"Since third year?" asked Severus with raised eyebrows. "What made you start working on it?"

"I … I thought it would be cool." answered Sirius awkwardly. "Look, can we stop talking about this?"

Something flashed in Severus' eyes. "You did it with your friends, didn't you? You're all animagi." he said accusingly.

"Why are you so obsessed about what I did with them? I told you, I don't want to talk about it." snapped Sirius.

Severus went completely still. "Get out!" he hissed after a second, balling his hands into fists.

"W … what?"

"You heard me! I don't want you here." answered Severus coldly. He went over to the door and picked up Sirius' robes from the hook before tossing it to him.

"Severus …"

"Out!" said Severus and opened the door. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Remus standing on the other side. "Hey, Remus." he said quietly and stepped aside.

Remus came in and sat on one of the armchairs. "Were you leaving?" he asked tiredly.

Sirius looked down at the robe on his lap and put it aside. "Yeah."

Severus summoned a mug for Remus and poured some coffee for him. "How are you feeling? I wanted to come see you but Sirius said you were too tired for visitors." he said, picking up his own mug.

"It's mostly the potions, they make me drowsy." answered Remus with a yawn. "The muscle relaxer helps a lot but my bones still hurt." he continued and started to gulped down his coffee.

"Oh, that reminds me." said Severus to himself and went to his bedroom.

"So, how was class, today?" asked Remus after draining his mug.

"It was … Severus found out about Padfoot." Sirius blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer.

Remus sat up straighter. "He did? Is he mad?" he asked.

"He was and then he forgave me, but …" answered Sirius. He stopped talking when Severus came back.

"Take off your shirt." ordered Severus.

"What?!" Remus and Sirius asked in union.

Severus ignored Sirius and turned to Remus. "I want to rub this on your back." he said, holding up a vial. "I came up with the formula myself. It's supposed to lessen the ache in your bones. Just take of your shirt and lie on the couch." he continued in a firm tone.

Remus was obviously uncomfortable, but he started to take off his robes. Sirius got up from the couch to let Remus lie there and watched from a corner as Severus got to work.

"This is much better." mumbled Remus in the cushion.

"Really? It's working?" asked Severus.

"Yeah, it's great."

"You can take the rest. I can make more if you need it. Just …"

"He's asleep, Severus." said Sirius quietly. Severus didn't say anything and continued to rub the potion on Remus' scarred back. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you." he said as he sat on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Aren't you going to talk to me?"

"Go get a blanket." was all Severus said.

"Severus …"

"Fine! I'll get it myself." snapped Severus. He wiped his hand on a piece of cloth and once again disappeared in his bedroom.

Sirius rubbed at his face in frustration and started to pick up Remus' clothes. He was about to shake the boy awake when Severus came back.

"Let him be. He can stay here." said Severus and covered Remus with his own duvet.

"But I can't." whispered Sirius bitterly.

Severus turned to him sharply. "Is it how it's going to be? I'm not allowed to know anything about what you did in the past six years? You may not be friends with Potter anymore but you trust him more than you trust me."

"That's not true. I do trust you."

"You're all talk, Sirius! I'm still an outsider to you. Your friends know more about you than I ever will."

"Fine! You want to know why we became animagi? We did it for Remus. So that he wouldn't have to be alone in the shack ripping at his own flesh at the full moon."

"How very noble of you." mocked Severus. "You sure it wasn't about setting a werewolf free in the forest and having fun while putting everybody else in danger?" he hissed.

Sirius felt himself pale. "How … How do you know about that?"

"I'm not a complete idiot, you know. I can put two and two together just fine." sneered Severus. "Do you want to hear what else I know? I know you have a piece of parchment to track people and an invisibility cloak."

Sirius was speechless. He dropped his eyes and stared at his hands. He heard Severus going to his bedroom and closing the door.


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Time for Change

Summary: Sirius stands up for Severus.

Remus woke up to the smell of eggs and sausages. He didn't open his eyes immediately, reluctant to leave the warm cocoon he was sleeping in. In the end hunger won. Remus sat up with a sigh and put on his shirt before going to the guest bathroom. By the time he got back, Severus had set their breakfast on the coffee table.

"Morning, Remus." said Severus with a small smile.

"Good morning." answered Remus and sat down. He started to fill his plate with food. It took a few minutes for him to realize Sirius wasn't there. "Where is Sirius?" he asked.

Severus shrugged. "In his dorm, probably." he said.

Remus frowned. "He told me you found out about Padfoot. Are you guys fighting?" he asked before attacking his food. He was really hungry.

Severus looked at him in confusion for a second before the realization downed on him. "Padfoot the dog, how clever." he murmured under his breath sarcastically. "We didn't fight because of the dog. I started asking questions about how he became an animagus and he didn't want to say anything since it was a marauders thing." he explained finally.

"Oh." was all Remus could say in response.

Severus ran a hand through his long hair. "It's so frustrating! You guys have all been friends for six years and you still have all these secrets and … and I feel like I can never be as close to Sirius as any of you."

"Look, Severus. Sirius really likes you and I know you like him. That's all that matters. You just have to find a way to get over the past." said Remus.

Severus pursed his lips but didn't say anything. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes as if meditating. "I conjured my patronus." he said after a few minutes.

"You did?! Can I see it?" asked Remus in awe, forgetting their earlier conversation.

...

Sirius sat in the common room in a daze. He hadn't had dinner the night before and he didn't feel like going to breakfast this morning. He was trying to come up with a way to fix things but he couldn't think of anything. He kept thinking to himself: 'What if Severus never talks to me again? What if we're broken up for good?'

Sirius groaned and put his head in his hands when he saw his housemates coming back from breakfast. He had charms in less than twenty minutes and he still didn't know how to face Severus. He was tempted to skip the class, but he was afraid of making things worst by not showing up. Sirius was so deep in thought that he didn't notice someone sitting next to him.

"James told me you finally broke up with Snape." said a female voice. Sirius jumped a little. He looked up and came face to face with Lily Evans.

"We're not broken up." said Sirius with confidence he wasn't feeling.

"You're not?" asked Evans, raising an eyebrow. "James said you've been moping about since last night."

"We're not broken up!" repeated Sirius, more firmly this time.

Lily heaved a long suffering sigh. "I thought you would have come to your senses by now and realized that he's not good for you. He is dark and twisted and he's going to take you down with him."

"How can you talk about him like this? He used to be your friend."

"I would never have become friends with him if I knew he would be into dark magic." said Evans defiantly. "I was so good to him. I was his friend when no one else even talked to him. And he threw it all away so that he can hang out with a bunch of Death Eaters without anyone calling him on it. And now … now he has fooled all the teachers into believing he's changed. I don't buy this nonsense for a second and you shouldn't either."

"Stop it, Evans!"

"Why? Is it too close to the truth?" said Evans, crossing her arms over his chest. "Haven't you hurt James, enough? Do you have any idea how upset he is? Why don't you end this? You must have realized what a slimy …"

"Enough! If anyone is dark and twisted, it's you and your fucking boyfriend who don't give a crap about anyone but yourselves." bellowed Sirius and stormed out of the common room.

He got to the charms classroom a few minutes early, but he didn't go in. He sat instead in the corridor and put his head on his knees. He didn't looked up until he heard Severus' deep voice. He watched the boy entering the corridor with Remus. They were discussing something excitedly and didn't seem to pay much attention to their surroundings. Suddenly, James materialized out of nowhere and put his foot in front of Severus. Sirius felt his heart tightening as Severus fell down with a thud. He jumped to his feet and rushed over.

"What's wrong Snivellus? Forgotten how to walk?" mocked James as Remus helped Severus to his feet. "You can't do shit without Gryffindors holding your hand, can you?"

"Shut up, James! Shut your bloody mouth." said Sirius. He pushed James roughly, making him knock into the wall.

"What … what is wrong with you?!" asked James dumbfoundedly. "I thought you dumped this slimy waste of space!"

"Don't you dare talk to my boyfriend like that!" snapped Sirius. "Who the hell do you think you are? I've had enough of you walking around as if you own the damn school. Grow the hell up, already. You're bothering him because you're jealous. Severus is worth ten of you and you know it." he continued without missing a bit.

Severus was looking at him as if seeing him for the first time. He smiled halfheartedly at him. Sirius took his hand and guided him to one of the empty classroom.

"It was nice. The way you stood up for me." said Severus.

"I should have been doing this all along. You never deserved any of it." said Sirius as he pulled the other boy into a hug.

"It's not easy, being picked on all the time." whispered Severus. "I don't know if I can ever get over it."

"I … I understand."

"And thinking about all the things you used to do with your friends and how close you all used to be …" Severus trailed of. He pulled away and wiped at the tears that were running down his face.

Sirius gave him a handkerchief and urged him to sit down. "We do stuff together all the time, Severus. And we can do more." he said. "I could … I could teach you to become an animagus."

"I don't think I can learn. They say it's really hard and I'm not good at transfiguration." answered Severus after a few minutes of silence.

"Of course you can learn. You're brilliant, remember?" said Sirius, getting a smile out of his boyfriend. "It might take a couple of years, but you'll get there." he continued and pulled Severus into another hug.


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Playing Cupid

Summary: Remus asks Lisa on a date.

Notes: For those of you who don't remember, Lisa is the Ravenclaw girl that was Sirius and Remus' study partner for their NEWT projects.

...

As the Spring arrived, the tension between Severus and Sirius melted along with the snow that had been covering the grounds. The warm weather also helped speed the rebuilding of Hogsmeade. The village was finally whole and ready to host the students on Easter. The Death Eaters had not attempted any more major attacks, probably due to their casualties on Christmas, but the number of muggles disappearances had the Aurors convinced that they were still active. The papers were filled with theories about an upcoming war and the students at Hogwarts were as nervous about the future as the rest of the wizarding world.

That day things were different. The Headmaster had announced the Hogsmeade visit at breakfast and the school was buzzing with excitement. Sirius was probably the most excited person in the castle. "I can't believe we're going to Hogsmeade together!" he said for the tenth time that day, making the librarian glare at them.

Severus smiled warmly at him and squeezed his hand. "I know, it will be fun."

"We can finally have a real date!"

"We've already had a date, Sirius."

"I know. But this is different." answered Sirius with his charming grin.

Remus sighed and looked up from his book. "You guys aren't going to ditch me, are you?" he asked knowingly.

Sirius' face fell. "No, of course not … well, maybe just a little."

Remus sighed again. "I should stay at the school."

"No! You have to come. We'll spend some time together, I promise." said Sirius.

"I … I don't know."

"Sirius is right. You can't stay here alone, Remus. Why don't bring someone?" added Severus.

"What? … No, there's no one I can go with. Just forget I said anything."

"You should ask Lisa. You like her, right?" pressed Severus.

"How do you know about that?!" hissed Remus, blushing.

Severus shrugged. "It's obvious. I think she might like you, too."

"She doesn't like me. We're just study partners."

"Just ask her, Remy. You know she's single. She just broke up with Cornfoot." said Sirius.

"You really think I should ask her?" asked Remus uncertainly.

"Yes!" Severus and Sirius said in union, earning another glare from Mrs. March.

"I think I saw her at the potions section." said Remus.

"Go talk to her, then. What's the worst thing that could happen?" said Severus.

"Yeah, you're a Gryffindor, remember?" added Sirius.

"Alright." answered Remus. He stood up hesitantly and left.

Severus and Sirius watched him as he moved to the potion section and found Lisa. A few minutes later, Remus rushed back to their table, grinning from ear to ear.

"She said yes!" said Remus.

"Great. When are you supposed to meet her?" asked Sirius.

Remus blinked a few times. "I didn't ask." he said, standing up again.

"Tell her to meet you at the entrance hall at 9." said Severus. Remus nodded and turned to leave.

"We're getting our date!" said Sirius, a little too loudly. Severus shushed him, trying to hold in a chuckle.

...

Sunday morning arrived soon enough. Sirius picked Severus up from his rooms and they went to the entrance hall arm in arm. Remus was waiting for them in a corner. "Hi, Remus. You look nice." said Severus as they approached the nervous boy.

"Really? Do you think the flowers are too much?" asked Remus. He was holding a bouquet of roses in his hands.

"No, they're beautiful. She'll love them." answered Severus with a reassuring smile.

"There she is." announced Sirius. "Severus and I will be at the Three Broomsticks at noon. You can join us there if you want."

"Tell her, her hair looks nice."

"Alright." answered Remus and rushed to where Lisa was standing with her friends.

Severus and Sirius stood there and watched the two for a few minutes. "It seems to be going well." observed Severus.

"Yeah, they'll be fine." said Sirius dismissively. "Where do you want to go?" he asked, guiding Severus to the door.

"I haven't been to the apothecary in a while and I want to buy some parchment and ink."

"Come on, Sev. It's supposed to be a date. I don't want to run errands all day. Let's do something fun."

"What do you want to do?"

"We could go to Puddifoot's. It's not my favorite place but that's where people usually go on dates."

"Hmmm. I don't like Puddifoot's that much either. How about we go to that bakery you told me about, instead? We'll get some pastries and sit by that fountain behind Zonko's."

"That sounds nice." said Sirius, grinning. "Shall we?" he asked and took Severus' arm again.

…

Severus and Sirius got to the Three Broomsticks before noon to make sure they could get a table. They had sat by the fountain for most of the day after loading up on pastries at the bakery and convincing the Hog's Head owner to sell them some goat milk to go with it. They had even found time to do their errands.

They ordered as soon as Remus and Lisa joined them. Lisa put the rose bouquet in a vase on the table. It was charmed to stay fresh for a couple of days.

"Wow, you really look nice Lisa. You should wear your hair like that all the time." said Sirius.

"Thank you," answered Lisa shyly. She had pulled her hair in a ponytail like she always did, but it was looser than usual and she had curled her brown locks a little.

"Did you guys have fun?" asked Severus.

"Yeah. We went to Puddifoot's. The tea was great." answered Remus.

"It was. I think the new decorations are more tasteful, too." added Lisa. "What did you guys do?"

"We went to Mr. Harrison's bakery and got some goat milk."

"Goat milk? Where did you find that?" asked Remus.

"You've seen those goats behind Hog's Head? I bet Severus that I could get the owner to sell us their milk." explained Sirius. "We have a little left. You want to try it? It's great!" he continued as he pour some of it in a glass and held it out to Remus.

"I think I'll pass." said Remus.

"I want to try it." said Lisa excitedly and took the offered glass.

"It's not that good, you know." Severus whispered to her.

Lisa smiled and took a sip. "It tastes weird but it's not that bad." she said and took another sip. "Here Remus, try some." she added as she handed him the glass.

Remus took a big sip and made a face, making everyone chuckle. "I'm with Severus. It's awful." he said and started to wipe his mouth with a napkin.

"That better not be fire whisky, boys." said Madam Rosmerta sternly as she put down their lunch.

"It's just milk." answered Remus.

"It's fresh goat milk. You should try it Madam Rosmerta." said Sirius.

"No, thank you dear." answered the bar keep, then turned to Severus. "The butterbeers are on the house, love." she added with a wink and left.

"This is the fourth time today this happens. Severus is the most famous guy in Hogsmeade." said Sirius.

Severus blushed. "I'm sure that's not true." he mumbled.

"I bet it is. Professor Flitwick told us how much you helped. It must have been really scary to go to the battlefield." said Lisa.

"I ... I wasn't the only one helping." answered Severus shifting in his seat uncomfortably. "Sirius and Remus came, too and ... Potter."

"I didn't know you were there, Remus." said Lisa. "What was it like? Did you actually fight with the Death Eaters?" she asked.

With that Remus started to tell her about the battle and how they have saved the villagers. Severus and Sirius busied themselves with their food and let them talk.

"How does it feel, playing Cupid?" Sirius whispered to his boyfriend half way through lunch.

"I'm the Cupid? You're the one who set them up to be partners in transfiguration." Severus whispered back, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really, I just want to make McGonagall put us together." answered Sirius with a smirk. "You are so their Cupid."


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Revange

Summary: The Death Eater get more aggressive.

Severus woke up with a start. He heard a banging noise, but couldn't comprehend where it was coming from. It took a minute for him to realize someone was at the door. Severus slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake Sirius and picked up his wand from the nightstand. He then put on a dressing gown before rushing to the door.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Severus? It's me, Regulus." said a familiar voice.

Severus dropped the wards on his door but didn't lower his wand until he saw Regulus come in.

"I'm sorry I woke you up. I tried to wait until morning but I couldn't." said Regulus.

"What's wrong?" asked Severus, urging the boy to sit.

"It's my parents. They want me to take the mark this summer."

"What?!" said Severus. He was feeling as nervous as Regulus, now. "I thought they didn't want you to take the mark."

"The dark Lord is pressuring them. He's pressuring everyone. When they missed the school train at Christmas, he torture all of them, even the ones that weren't there. He needs more people and they're too scared of him to say no. All the kids that know how to apparate are taking the mark." explained Regulus, biting his nails.

"What about the university? Are they still letting you go?"

"I don't know. They were pretty excited about it when I told them at Christmas, but I have one year of school left. Even if I could go now they would make me take the mark before leaving."

Severus frowned and stared into space for a few minutes, while his friend fidgeted where he sat. "There's an old wizarding school next to the university, right? You can go there next year and finish your school. You could find a summer program there and leave right after the exams." he said finally.

Regulus shook his head. "You don't know my parents, Sev. They won't back down."

"Don't tell them, then. You're seventeen. You can transfer without their consent. It's only up to Slughorn and I'm sure he'll help you."

"The university does offer summer courses. They have already accepted my application, so I think I could get in but it's going to cost a lot of money. How am I supposed to pay for it on my own? How am I supposed to pay for school next year?"

"Don't worry about that, now." said Severus, taking Regulus' hand in his own. "We have to focus on getting you out of here. I have some money saved. It's enough to get you through summer and I'm sure St. Mungo's will be paying me good money. If we're still short by the time you have to pay for the next school year, I'll sell my dad's house."

"I can't let you do that. You'll be broke. What about your Mastery?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." said Severus and pull Regulus in a hug. They jumped apart as they heard someone talk.

"I have money." said Sirius. He was standing right behind them.

"You scared me, Sirius." said Severus.

"Yeah, what are you even doing here this late?" snapped Regulus. He looked between the two of them for a second. "Oh, were you … you know what, don't answer that." he said, blushing. "Just … could you put on a shirt, Siri?"

Sirius ignored his brother and sat down. "Why do you guys need money so bad?" he asked curiously.

"Your parents want Regulus to join the dark Lord's ranks this summer. He's pressuring the pureblood families and they're all too scared of him to say no." explained Severus. "We should get Regulus out of here right after the exams. He'll be safe once he's in Italy."

"You need money for tuition, then?" asked Sirius. "I won't let you pay for anything, Sev. I have enough money to cover everything and still have plenty left. It's from our uncle, so technically it's Regulus' money, too." he said firmly.

"Thank you." answered Regulus.

Severus sighed. "I's almost five. I'll make some coffee." he said and went into the kitchen.

"Everything's going to be fine, Reg. You'll see." said Sirius, more to himself than to his brother. Regulus only nodded in response.

"We haven't really talked since last year, have we?" asked Sirius awkwardly after a few minutes of silence. "Good thing Severus is here to keep us talking."

"Yeah." said Regulus grimly. "I don't think we'll see each other for a few years after I leave."

"We can visit you there, can't we?"

"I guess you could." answered Regulus with a half-smile. "How are things going between you two?"

"Good." said Sirius with a grin. "We fight every once in a while, but we're really happy together."

"You should look out for him, you know. They haven't forgotten about last year and things are about to get more violent."

Sirius' good mood vanished at that. He was about to ask something, but stopped himself when he saw Severus come in.

…

In the next few weeks the Death Eaters turned their attention from muggles to muggle borns and blood traitors. They attacked their targets at night in groups of five and did as much damage as they could. They put up a dark mark above the houses of victims and left before the Aurors arrived. With every passing day the wizarding world sank farther in horror and chaos. Hogwarts was no different, with the students worried about their friends and family and the house rivalry and prejudice taking a turn for the worst.

The NEWTs were a great distraction from all that. Severus had been pushing himself more than usual and that was saying something. By the last exam he was completely drained. He left Lisa and Remus after his Arithmancy exam and started to look for Sirius. Sure enough he found his boyfriend standing by himself in the middle of the courtyard.

"Hey, sexy. How was the exam?" asked Sirius with a smirk.

Severus smiled tiredly. "It was fine. I'm just glad it's over." he answered, taking Sirius' hand in his own.

"Me, too. Now we can do this all day." said Sirius and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Severus pulled away when he felt the other boy's hand move to his ass and squeeze. "What's gotten into you?" he whispered. He could tell that everyone was staring at them.

"Sorry, I'm just excited." answered Sirius nonchalantly. "How about we go somewhere private? I've gotten some butterbeer special for today."

"Alright, sure." said Severus with a sigh. He frowned as Sirius slipped his hand around his waist and started to guide him to one of the empty classrooms but didn't say anything. He didn't want to upset his boyfriend when he was obviously excited.

Sirius closed the door as they got inside. Severus slummed down in one of the chairs and watched him pull a flask and two mugs out of his bag and fill the mugs with butterbeer. He then handed one of the mugs to Severus and started to drink from his own cup. Severus smiled. He was about to take a sip, but suddenly stopped and sniffed the beer. He couldn't put his figure on it but he sure there was another smell mixed with the beer. "Blood root." he whispered to himself, dread filling every fiber of his body.

"Sirius, no!" he yelled and jumped to his feet to knock the drink out of Sirius' hand but the boy grabbed him.

...

James frowned when he saw Sirius standing in the middle of the courtyard. He could have sworn he had seen him inside ten minutes ago. He pursed his lips in disgust as the boy started kissing Snivellus like a starving man, and turned to leave. Lily had been on his way to the common room with her friends, perhaps he could catch up with them.

As James started to walk along the corridor, something started to nag at him at the back of his mind. He pulled the map out of his pocket and check the courtyard, Sirius wasn't there anymore. He scanned the map and finally found his dot in the broom closet. 'Snivellus has finally done it.' he thought to himself as he moved to the closet. He found Sirius bound and freed him.

"I knew he was going to do something like that. I told you he would and you didn't listen." said James smugly.

"Where's Severus?" rasped Sirius.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? You know we can't see him on the map, anymore."

"Where did you see him last?"

"Where do you think?" sneered James.

"Damn it, James! Tell me where you saw him." snapped Sirius.

"In the courtyard, you know when you were snogging like …." James started to say, Sirius broke into the run before he could finish.

"Hey! Wait, you jackass. Let's find Peter and Remus and we'll get him together." said James, going after him.

They saw Remus with his girlfriend, when they got to the courtyard. "Sirius?!" asked Remus with round eyes.

"Where is Severus? Where did he take him?" asked Sirius urgently.

"That way." said the girl. "I thought it looked weird."

"Please, help. We have to find him." said Sirius. With that they all started running again. James sighed and ran after them.


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Life and Death

Summary: Sirius saves Severus' life.

Sirius ran frantically in the corridors and checked every corner. With each passing moment he felt his desperation grow. He was at the verge of breaking down when Lisa called him. She was standing at the door to one of the classrooms as if unable to go inside. Sirius pushed her aside and enter the room with a sinking heart. There was blood everywhere. Someone was lying unconscious on the floor and Severus was a few feet away on his hands and knees, gagging.

"Severus!" yelled Sirius and kneeled down in front of his boyfriend. He started to check for injuries, but Severus put his shaking hands on his forearms to stop him and shook his head weakly.

"I don't know what to do!" said Sirius. "Please, breathe." he whispered, tears were running down his face. He looked down as one of Severus' hands tightened around his arm and realized the boy was holding something. Sirius took it out gently. It looked like a stone, but it was covered in blood.

"I'm sorry. I … I don't know what to with this." sobbed Sirius. Severus was breathing harder now.

".. be… be …zzz…" whispered Severus.

"Bezoar? It's a bezoar!" said Sirius. He took Severus in his arms and shoved the stone down his throat, almost choking him. A moment later, Severus' eyes rolled back in his head and he went completely still. Sirius picked him up and started running as fast as he could.

"Madam Pomfrey!" he yelled as he got to the infirmary. "Madam Pomfrey, please help!"

"What in the world?!" said the mediwitch as she rushed out of her office. "Put him on the bed." she ordered.

Sirius put the slight boy on the nearest bed. "I think he was poisoned. I gave him a bezoar. He couldn't breathe." he explained.

"Alright. Now step aside." answered Pomfrey and started to move her wand. Sirius could see Severus' lungs fill with air with every movement of her hand.

"No, I want to stay." snapped Sirius. He felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. Remus and Lisa were standing behind him.

"Come on, Sirius. Let her do her job." said Remus as he dragged him away.

"No! no, he needs me!" sobbed Sirius, struggling in his friend's surprisingly firm grip.

"You've done all you could."

"What if he …" Sirius trailed of. He sank to the floor, crying harder. He had never been this scared in his life.

Lisa sat down next to him. "He'll be fine, Sirius. The bezoar must have blocked the poison and Madam Pomfrey's doing the rest." she said reassuringly.

Sirius didn't answer. He watched as the mediwitch moved about the room, picking up potions and chanting non-stop.

"He's stable. You can come see him, now." said Pomfrey finally.

Sirius stood up shakily and went over to Severus' bed. "Is he … is he going to be alright?"

"Yes, dear. You brought him just in time. He has to stay here for a couple of weeks but he's going to recover." explained Pomfrey.

At that moment the door opened again and Professor McGonagall came in with James at her toe. The transfiguration professor was floating someone in front of her. "He's bleeding pretty badly, Poppy and I can't stop it." she said as she put the man on one of the beds.

"Hey! Get that piece of shit out of here." yelled Sirius. He was about to get to the other side of the room, when Remus stopped him again.

"Get off, Remus! That's the bloody bastard who poisoned Severus." snapped Sirius. "I thought he was your friend."

"He is! But that guy is going to die if they don't help him."

"I don't give a damn!"

"Severus is the one who had cursed him. If he dies, Severus will become a murderer." said Remus quietly.

"That's not fair! He was just defending himself."

"I know." answered Remus.

Sirius let Remus push him down on one of the chairs. He stared at his boyfriend's pale face as Madam Pomfrey started to chant the counter spell in a sing a song tone, the way Severus had done at Hogsmeade. He started to count Severus' shallow breaths as more people came into the room. He could hear Dumbledore and McGonagall talking.

Sirius stayed there for the rest of the day. Remus and Lisa tried to get him to rest but he didn't listen. Slughorn came over at some point and ran a diagnosis charm on the unconscious boy before sitting next to Sirius.

"He's lucky to have you, Mr. Black. You saved his life, today." said Slughorn.

"This shouldn't have happened." answered Sirius. "Is it because he's with me, a blood traitor? Is it why they did this?"

Slughorn sighed. "It's one of the reason they don't like him, but it's not why they did this. They're destroying anything and anyone that doesn't agree with them. Severus turned his back on them and they can't stand it."

"But maybe … if we weren't together …"

"Don't you get it, son? They were after both of you. They were going to frame you for poisoning him." said Slughorn, squeezing his hand. "What you both need to do is to learn to be more careful. Separating won't help anything. You're stronger together."

"Thank you." answered Sirius, feeling a weight coming off of his shoulders.

"You'd better go get some rest. Severus is going to sleep all night but he might wake up tomorrow and he's going to be in a lot of pain. You can't help him if you don't rest."

"But …" protested Sirius, his eyes moving to the other side of the room.

"Don't worry. The other teachers and I will be taking turns watching him. I told them to take that man to St. Mungo's but they never listen." said Slughorn, shaking his head. "Go, son. We'll look after Severus."

Sirius hesitated for moment but nodded and stood up.


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Hospital Visitors

Summary: Severus wakes up and has a couple of unwanted visitors.

Sirius went back to the hospital wing the next day. He nodded to Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey, who were talking in a corner and sat down next to Severus' bed. He could see his boyfriend's breathing was stronger and his color looked better today, but he was still very pale. Sirius felt tears filling his eyes. It was hard to see Severus like this.

He averted his eyes and look at the nightstand. There were several potion vials stacked up there and one of the drawers was half way open. He could see something shining inside and opened the drawer all the way. Sirius smiled a little as he saw Severus' lighter and picked it up. He ran his fingers on the edges the way Severus did when he was nervous. He was about to put it back when he saw a photo at the bottom of the drawer. It was a muggle photo of a small boy sitting in front of a frosted cake with three candle on it. Sirius felt his heart melting as he recognized the boy. The three year old Severus was grinning from ear to ear. His silky hair was slightly long and his black shiny eyes looked huge in his small pale face.

Sirius sat there staring at the photo for some time. He looked up when he heard someone getting inside the infirmary.

"Hi, Siri." said James. He stood at the foot of Severus' bed and shuffled his feet awkwardly.

Sirius sighed. "I guess I should thank you for getting me out of that closet. If you weren't there …" he trailed off.

"I thought Snape had put you in there."

"I know." answered Sirius with another sigh.

James sat on the chair next to his. "You really like him, don't you? I've never seen you this upset. Not even when your parents disowned you." he said in an accusatory tone.

"Wouldn't you be upset if something like this happened to Lily?"

"Yeah, but Lily's … well, Lily. What do you even see in him?" asked James, sounding genuinely curious.

Sirius was about to snap at him but stopped himself. This was the first time they were discussing this civilly. "He's the most brilliant person I've ever met and he has a big heart. He's loyal and supportive. He makes me want to be a better guy."

James went quiet for a few minutes. "You were right." he admitted quietly. "I've always been jealous of him. I didn't like him from the beginning because he was in Slytherin and he had a big mouth on him and then he started showing off in class and I couldn't take it. I had always dreamed of coming to Hogwarts and I wanted to be the best one here."

"All the kids dream about going to Hogwarts, James. I'm sure Severus did, too and we made it hell for him." said Sirius and turned to look James in the eyes. "We're graduating. You're going to become an Auror. It's about time you grew up and started thinking about other people."

"That's what Lily always tells me." answered James. "I proposed to her last night. She said yes." he continued with a grin.

"Congratulations." said Sirius flatly and put the photo back in the drawer.

"Aren't you happy for me?" asked James, sounding hurt. "I wanted to ask you to be my best man."

"I don't think that's a good idea, James. We're not friends anymore. I don't like the way you treat people." answered Sirius.

"I'll try to change. I promise. You and I used to be like brothers, Sirius. I've missed hanging out with you." said James desperately. "Come on, Padfoot. If you bail on me, I'll be stuck with Wormtail."

"Maybe he should be your best man. He was the only one on your side." snapped Sirius. "You want to change? How about you start by treating your friends better." he continued. James was about to answer when they heard a grunt.

"Severus!" said Sirius, kneeling next to the bed.

Severus' dark lashes flattered, before he opened his eyes. His breathing quickened as his eyes fell on Sirius and he tried to move away.

"Shhh … It's OK, Sev. It's me. It's over. You're safe, now." said Sirius, taking Severus' face in his hands. "I came and got you, remember? He can't hurt you anymore." he continued and put a gentle kiss on Severus' forehead. With that Severus started to calm down and leaned into Sirius' touch.

"That's it. Try to breathe."

"H … hurts to … breathe." whispered Severus.

"I know. I'm sorry." said Sirius and started to caress Severus' hair. "It will get better." he added reassuringly.

"How's my favorite patient?" asked Madam Pomfrey as she approached the bed. "You woke up sooner than I expected. Are you already in a hurry to leave, dear?" she teased as she ran a diagnosis charm on Severus.

"He's in pain." said Sirius.

"That was to be expected. The poison has done some damage to his lungs." explained the mediwitch as she started to give Severus his potions. "I'm giving you a mild sedative, right now. You can have something stronger after you eat something." she told her patient. Severus swallowed his potions without protest.

"How do you feel, now?" asked Madam Pomfrey.

"The pain's better." answered Severus and tried to sit up. Sirius put an arm around his shoulders to help him.

"Good. I'm going to get you a broth." said Pumfrey and disappeared in her office. A few minutes later a tray appeared, hovering over Severus' lap.

"So, … glad to see you're OK, Snape." said James.

Severus blinked, noticing him for the first time. "What the hell do you want?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to see how you were. I was there when Sirius found you, yesterday."

Severus turned to Sirius. "Please tell me I don't owe him another bloody life dept."

"You don't owe me anything." said James. "From what happened, it's obvious that you're not a Death Eater and I wanted to apologize for thinking you were one." he added, sounding genuine.

Severus snorted. "You're done?" he asked sharply.

"When someone apologizes to you Snape, the decent thing to do is to accept it." snapped James.

"Enough, James. He's been through enough. I don't want you upsetting him." said Sirius with a glare. James pursed his lips and balled his hands into fists before turning on his heels and storming out.

"Sorry about that. He was talking to me before you woke up and I forgot he was here."

"It's fine." whispered Severus with a smile. "I want to kiss you but I can't lean forward."

"No problem." Sirius whispered back and kiss his boyfriend gently on the lips. "I'll kiss you again after you finish your breakfast." said Sirius. He sat at the edge of Severus' bed picked up the steaming mug. Severus put his hand over his and started to drink the thick broth.

It took some time but Severus emptied the mug and drank his potion, then sat back tiredly. "Where's my kiss?" he asked.

Sirius smirked. He put the tray away and leaned forward, putting small kisses on Severus' lips. He pulled back when he heard someone clearing their throat. Professor Dumbledore was standing by the bed. Sirius felt his boyfriend tensing all over.

"I'm glad to see you up and about, my boy." said the aged wizard cheerfully. Severus didn't answer. He just sat up straighter.

Dumbledore sighed and turned to Sirius. "I need to speak to Mr. Snape in private. Give us a second, my boy." he ordered.

"No. Sirius is staying." said Severus firmly.

"I must insist. This is a matter of great importance."

"I'm not leaving. Whatever it is you need to tell Severus, you can say in front of me." said Sirius.

Dumbledore's eyes flashed with anger but he seemed to compose himself. "Very well." he answered finally. He put on a silencing charm with a wave of his hand and sat down on the chair James had been occupying a few minutes ago. "The man you cursed yesterday is Antonin Dolohov." he said, watching Severus carefully as if trying to see his reaction.

"You mean the guy who attacked him." snapped Sirius.

Dumbledore ignored him. "Do you know him?" he asked Severus.

"No. Never heard of him."

"The cursed you used was a very dark one. How do you even know such a curse?"

Severus shrugged. "Must have read it somewhere." he answered shortly.

"You have gotten yourself in a great deal of trouble by using a curse like that." pressed the Headmaster.

"I was defending myself. He wanted to kill me."

Dumbledore nodded. "I believe you, but that won't be easy to prove. From what I gathered, Mr. Dolohov did not even draw his wand. Also, you could have used any number of spells to capture him but you chose a dark curse and caused a fatal wound, which very nearly killed him. Your misjudgment can land you in Azkaban."

"Dolohov was trying to poison him. Severus would have died if I hadn't gotten to him on time." snapped Sirius.

"Like I said Mr. Black I realize that and I am going to do everything in my power to quiet things down. Only the teachers and your friends know about what took place last night and you should try to keep it that way." explained Dumbledore.

"We haven't told anyone." said Sirius.

"Good. I'll let you boys know what happens." answered the Headmaster. He canceled the silencing charm and left.

"That was weird, wasn't it? Why would he want to help you?" asked Sirius when he was sure the Headmaster was out of the earshot.

"He doesn't" answered Severus thoughtfully.

"Do you think he's doing it for himself? It wouldn't be good for him if the news gets out."

"That's not it. He's planning something."

"I know you don't trust Dumbledore but maybe we should just let him handle this." said Sirius.

"No. This way he'll have all the power. He's going to twist this and used it to make me stay here."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Sirius, frowning.

"Because he was thinking about it."

"What do you mean he was …. Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you just used legilimency on Dumbledore?!"

"No. He was doing it to me, but I got hints of his thoughts while he was looking into my mind. I never push back. I don't want him to find out I know occlumancy." explained Severus.

Sirius' eyebrows shot up. "You know occlumancy and you let him enter your mind? How did you even learn occlumancy? I thought only a good legilimens can teach you."

"I learned from a book." answered Severus tiredly. "I bury my important memories but let him look into the surface. Don't you do that? I thought all the purebloods teach their kids about occlumancy."

"My uncle thought me when I was fifteen, but all I can do is block my mind. I don't even think my uncle could do that. And you learned from a book? That could take years." said Sirius in amazement. "So, you're sure about Dumbledore. What do you think we should do?" he asked.

Severus sat back and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. "We have to resolve this for good, this way he can't hold it against me. I think we should call the Aurors."

"It's kind of crazy but it makes sense." said Sirius thoughtfully. "We should call someone we know. How about Mr. Potter?"

"No." answered Severus, shaking his head. "He'll tell Dumbledore and let him handle it. You should contact Alastor Moody. He doesn't listen to anyone and he's through. Contact Andrew, too. I'm going to need confirmation from St. Mungo's to prove the curse was a healing spell."

"I'll take care of it." answered Sirius and pulled his boyfriend into a deep kiss.


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Turning the Tables

Summary: The Aurors arrive at Hogwarts.

With the mission Severus had given his boyfriend, he didn't see him for the rest of the day. He had a lot of other visitors, though. There was always a teacher watching Dolohov and there was someone by his bedside keeping him company. First it had been Filius, then Remus and Lisa. Andrew had dropped by at some point and by the afternoon he found himself playing chess with Minerva.

"Queen to G7." said Severus and watched the black Queen move on the board.

"Queen capturing C5." said Minerva, smirking as Severus' pawn got destroyed.

Severus scowled. "Knight to D7." he shot back.

"Really? That's your move? Gone rusty, have we?" said Minerva, then turned around and watched Pomona going to Poppy's office, before facing Severus, again. "I dropped the wards this morning, by the way."

"You did? Are you sure they're gone?"

"Yes, as sure as I can be."

"Thank you, Minerva."

"You're welcome." answered Minerva and smirked again before destroying another one of Severus' Pawns.

Severus huffed. He was about to make a move when they heard a commotion from outside of the infirmary.

"What now?!" snapped the transfiguration Professor to no one in particular before standing up and rushing outside.

Severus sharpened his ears. He could hear Dumbledore arguing with someone. A moment later the door opened and Alastor Moody came inside along with two other Aurors. Dumbledore and Minerva followed suit. Moody's eyes scanned the room before landing on him. Severus sat straighter, making himself wince in pain.

"There's no need for all this, Alastor. You should let us resolve this." said Dumbledore.

"A Death Eater attack has been reported. It's Auror business." answered Moody.

"I can assure you …"

"With all due respect Headmaster, I'm going to need you to step aside and let us do our job. You can make a statement when the investigation is completed." said Moody in a no nonsense tone, then approached Dolohov's bed. He inspected the man's arm before gesturing to the two other Aurors to come over there.

"What do you know, Headmaster? There has been a Death Eater involved." annouced Moody, before looking in Severus' direction again, making him squirmed a little. "We need to talk to the victim, alone." he added.

"Very well. But I am going to contact Auror Potter." said Dumbledore, before turning to leave. The other Professors left the room, as well.

The Aurors sat next to Severus' bed. "Severus Snape." said Moody, after putting the chess set in its box with a wave his wand. "I can see that you are unwell, so let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

"Yes, please." answered Severus. He had a feeling it had more to do with Dumbledore, but he was happy to move things along.

"I had already talked to the students who found you, before your Headmaster started meddling. No one seems to know what exactly took place in that classroom. Why don't you start from the beginning?"

"Alright." said Severus, gathering his thoughts. "It was after the arithmancy NEWT. I was looking for my boyfriend and found him in the courtyard, at least I thought it was him. He … he kissed me, I guess to make everyone see us together, and told me he wanted to go somewhere private to celebrate the end of the exams." Severus paused to catch his breath. "I probably should have known it wasn't Sirius, since his behavior was kind of weird, but I wasn't really paying attention."

"So, he took you to that classroom. What happened next?" asked Moody, impatiently.

"He had some butterbeer with him in a flask. He poured some for both of us. He drank from his own mug… well, that's what I thought back then. He wasn't really drinking. I raised my mug and I was about to take a sip, when I realized there was another smell underneath the beer. It took me a second, but I recognized the smell of blood root."

Moody snorted. "Of course you did." he said in amusement. "What did you do?"

"I said 'Sirius, no' and I stood up to knock the drink out of his hand but he … he grabbed me." explained Severus. He closed his eyes for a second. "That's when I found out it wasn't Sirius at all. I tried to get out of his grip, but he was stronger than me. He held me in front of him with one arm and picked up the flask with the other. While he was doing that, I reached for my wand."

"So, you reached for your pocket when he was looking away?" asked Moody.

Severus nodded. "Yes, I took out my wand and when he started to pour the beer down my throat, I aimed my wand and shot a spell at him."

"You're saying Dolohov had one of his arms around you from behind, so when you aimed you must have aimed to your back and since you couldn't move your arms completely you've probably gotten him in the gut." reasoned Moody. He looked at one the Aurors sitting beside him who nodded in confirmation.

"The wound also has a zigzag shape, so the aim must have been off." said the Auror.

Moody nodded. "Continue." he told Severus.

"He let me go and I fell down. I took out the bezoar I keep in my pocket for emergencies, but the poison was already working and suffocating me, so I couldn't move anymore. Sirius came in after that and … You probably know the rest." finished Severus quietly, he could remember the way the poison had burned its way down to his lungs.

"Your story seems to check out with the evidence and what the witnesses told us." said Moody. "Now, there's the issue with the curse you used. Since you used it in self-defense and in extreme circumstances, according to the law it can't be held against you, but professor Dumbledore believes you have used a very dark curse and the Headmaster is concerned about that."

"The Headmaster is wrong. I used a healing spell."

"A healing spell?! You cut the man's gut open!" said one of the other Aurors.

"It's a surgical spell, designed to create measured cuts." explained Severus.

"And how did you learn this spell?" asked Moody.

"I created it myself for St. Mungo's. I've had them send a confirmation to Madam Pomfrey as proof." answered Severus.

Moody snorted. "Why am I not surprised?" he asked himself. "We're going to talk to Madam Pomfrey, see if she could confirm your statement." he continued before standing up.

"What happens next? After everything's confirmed?" asked Severus.

"We'll take Mr. Dolohov into custody and have a court date scheduled. You're going to have to be present for that."

"Isn't there a way to speed things along?" asked Severus desperately. "What if … What if I give you my memory?"

Moody sat back down. "Technically, if the memory is not modified and if it matches your statement the case will be closed and the court session won't be public. In this case, you wouldn't have to show up, so it would speed things up. However, not many people consent to give their memory. A memory is very much detailed and personal and I can't guarantee that it would be given back to you right away." he explained.

Severus stared at his hands for a moment, thinking. Decision made he looked up and nodded. "I want to do this. What should I do?" he asked.

…

Sirius was pacing in the corridor outside of the infirmary. This whole thing had looked like a good idea before but he couldn't help but worry, now. The Aurors had been inside for almost half an hour. Sirius looked down the corridor when he heard footsteps. He recognized Mr. Potter who was walking alongside Dumbledore.

"Sirius! How are you doing, son?" asked the head Auror. "How did your NEWTs go?"

"It was fine, sir." answered Sirius.

"I know James thought some of them were more challenging than anticipated." continued Mr. Potter.

"I'm sorry to interrupt." said Dumbledore "but as I've already explained, time is of essence here."

"Of course, Albus." answered Mr. Potter. "We'll talk later, son." he told Sirius kindly before following Dumbledore to the infirmary. Sirius went inside a moment later and stood in a corner.

"I'm sure you can handle any case on your own Alastor, but Headmaster Dumbledore has some concerns regarding this one." Mr. Potter was saying. "Now, if you would give me an update."

Moody huffed but answered respectfully. "The attacker, Mr. Dolohov is confirmed to be a Death Eater. As to how he had gotten inside the school needs a more thorough investigation. We have talked to the witnesses and to the victim. The victim has also consented to give us his memory of the attack." he explained, holding up a crystal vial. "Everything checks out so far. If the memory is accurate, the case will be closed by the end of the day."

"I see." said Mr. Potter. "And the curse Mr. Snape used?"

"We have it on good authority that it's a healing spell and the evidence suggests it had been used in self-defense, which could be confirmed with the memory." explained Moody. Sirius let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and sighed in relief.

"Looks like you have things under control. Make sure to transfer Dolohov to St. Mungo's as soon as possible. It doesn't bode well to have him in the same room as his victim." ordered Mr. Potter before turning to Dumbledore. "Now that I'm here Albus, I think we should try to figure out how Dolohov got into the school to avoid this in the future."

"Yes, of course." answered Dumbledore absentmindedly, lacking his usual twinkle. With that, people started leaving one by one.

Sirius rushed to Severus' bed and pulled him in a hug. "I was worried." he whispered in the boy's ear.

"It's over, now. Everything's going to be fine." Severus whispered back. "I can't believe we're really graduating." he said after they parted.

Sirius grinned in response. "We'll celebrate when you're better."

"It's a date." answered Severus, smiling for the first time that day.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56: The NEWT Results

Summary: Severus starts looking for his mother.

Severus sat at the windowsill in the infirmary. He had been stuck there for more than a week, now. He was still a little weak but his lungs had healed and he was getting restless from staying in the hospital.

Severus sighed as he finished reading his letter for the third time. It was short and impersonal but he couldn't think of anything else to add. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and put the letter between the pages of his notebook. He jumped a little when Sirius called his name.

"Severus! What are you doing sitting next to the window?!" snapped Sirius as he took the notebook out of his hands. "You know what Madam Pomfrey said the last time you did this. If you catch a cold, it will set you back."

"I'm not cold." mumbled Severus under his breath as he climbed down the windowsill and snatched his notebook back. "I don't understand why she doesn't let me go back to my quarters. I'm fine." he said, scowling.

Sirius sighed. "It's only for a few more days." he said soothingly and put a hand on Severus' back to guide him to the other side of the room. "Come on, you need to lie down."

"I'm not lying down! I'm sick of this." snapped Severus and sat down on a chair.

Sirius sat next to him. "What is it? Why are you so cranky?" he asked and put an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders.

Severus closed his eyes for a second. "Sorry. I'm just thinking about graduation." he said and leaned on Sirius. "Sirius? What do you know about the Prince family?" he asked after a few minutes.

"The Prince family?" asked Sirius, frowning. "What do you want to know?"

"Why are they so mysterious? They don't send their kids to Hogwarts and none of them work at the ministry."

"They have both French and English ancestors. There was this huge scandal about twenty years ago when their youngest daughter ran away and married a muggle. Since then, they've broken all ties with the British wizarding world." answered Sirius.

"Isn't that a bit extreme? I thought the pureblood just disowned their children when something like this happened. Why would they isolate themselves like that?"

"Things were different back then. Marriages were arranged and Lord Prince had already signed a marriage contract for his granddaughter when she ran away. A marriage contract with the Princes was a big deal. Having a Prince in the family tree supposedly strengthens the blood line, since they're the oldest wizarding family in Britain. That's why they used to practically sell their offspring to the highest bidder. When they didn't honor their contract, the wizengamot voted for their seats to be taken away and the Princes pulled all their support and money from the ministry." explained Sirius.

"Do you know why she ran away?" asked Severus quietly.

"I think she was supposed to marry someone much older than her. The purebloods are all nuts like that. They treat their children like possessions." answered Sirius. "You're lucky you never had to deal with that."

"Perhaps." said Severus and sat up with a sigh. "Have you seen Remus? He seemed a little upset the other day."

"Yeah, I know. He hasn't told me anything but I think it's because of Lisa. She's started to ask questions about his illness."

"Why doesn't he just tell her the truth? She has a right to know." said Severus.

"Are you guys talking about me?" asked someone suddenly. They both turned to see Remus standing by the door.

"No. we were just … talking about the other Lisa. You know the one with the …"

"Don't bother lying Sirius! There's no other Lisa." snapped Remus and left, slamming the door.

Severus ran out after him and took his arm. "Don't leave, Remus. We shouldn't have been talking about you." he said, panting with exhaustion.

"No, you shouldn't have! You have no right deciding what's best for me. You have no idea what it's like."

"You're right. I'm sorry." said Severus, tugging Remus' arm. "Let's go inside. I haven't seen you in a while and I'm not really allowed out here."

"Yeah, come on Remus. We're both sorry." said Sirius from the doorway. "It's just what couples do, you know, talking about other couples." he added cheekily.

Remus nodded and came back inside with them. They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Our NEWT results are coming today." said Sirius, attempting to change the subject. "I wish it came with owl. You know … like the OWLs."

"Filius said they came yesterday. They've been sorting through them."

"Really? Do you think McGonagall would tell us if we ask?" asked Remus.

Severus shrugged. "She might. Horace didn't tell me anything, though. He was here yesterday and I could tell he knew."

"I'm going to go find her." announced Sirius and walked to the door.

"Yeah, I'm coming with you." said Remus, standing.

"You're both leaving?" asked Severus. He had wanted to be alone before but now he felt disappointed.

Remus hesitated, looking between the two of them. He sat back down with a sigh. "I'll stay. Just be quick, Sirius and let me know what happens."

"Alright. Be back in a flash." said Sirius and disappeared behind the door.

"Aren't you supposed to be lying down?" asked Remus.

"Yeah, I should." answered Severus in annoyance. He pulled the covers back and got in his bed. "I'm just bored. I've already changed my bed like five times. I'm not even allowed to read in here. The most exciting thing I do is playing chess with Minerva and she'd too busy right now to …" he rambled on.

"Do you really think I should tell her?" Remus blurted out.

Severus blinked a few times. "You were right before. It's not really my place to judge you. It's your decision."

"But you do think I should tell her." pressed Remus.

Severus ran a hand through his hair. "I know I would want to know if it was me. I guess it all depends on how far you want to go with her."

"I ... I like her, but I know it can't really go anywhere." said Remus sadly. "No one would want to get serious with a werewolf."

"Look, I'm not saying it's not a big deal but if she really likes you she might want to stay with you."

"I don't know. Maybe it's just better to end it now."

Severus frowned. "Do you think she might out you?" he asked.

"What? No, of course not. She's not like that." answered Remus defensively.

"Then maybe you should take the chance."

"But, what if ... What if she's ..." Remus trailed off. He raised his hand and wiped at the tears that were running down his cheek.

"I'm sorry, Remus. I didn't want to upset you."

"What do you think she'd say?" asked Remus shakily.

"She will be shocked at first and she might say something she doesn't really mean. You're going to need to give her time to think things over and figure out if she can handle this. If she can't ... at least you wouldn't keep wandering. It's your decision whether you want to tell her, but all this secrecy is going to hurt both of you." said Severus. It still hurt when he thought about all the things Sirius had kept from him.

Remus didn't say anything. They started to talk about their NEWT results again after that.

...

They didn't receive their results until later that day. The heads of houses were supposed to hand the students their report cards in their office, one by one and give them some guidance with their career choice. Remus and Sirius went to their head of house's office, but Severus had to wait for Professor Slughorn to go through the rest of the Slytherins and then come by the infirmary.

Severus sighed in relief when the professor finally walked in. It took a moment for Horace to catch his breath. He then pull an envelope out of his pocket.

"Here you go, Severus. Why don't take a look before we talk?" he asked, giving him the envelope.

Severus held his breath as he took out the report card and scanned the page. A smile spread across his face as he realized he had gotten all Os. He frowned a little as he saw a mark next to his potions' score and looked up.

Horace smiled smugly. "That mark means your potion score is beyond the grading system. Both of your potions essays are going to get published in 'Modern Potions', one of the most prestigious journals in the wizarding world." he explained.

"Both of my papers are getting published?!" asked Severus disbelievingly. "And in a real academic journal?" he added.

Horace chuckled. "Yes, lad. Grand news, indeed. Your chances of employment are as good as they could be at this point. With your experience here at Hogwarts and now this, you can apply for an apprentice with any potion Master you choose. I know you're planning to work at st. Mungo'a but I could find you another position if you want."

"No, it's a good job and I've already given them my word"

"Very well." said Horace in disappointment. "Now, about graduation. Did you write your letter?"

"I did, but I'm still not sure." said Severus as he took the letter out of his notebook. "I've never even met any of them and they probably don't know where my mother is."

"It's worth a try. I've been asking around and no one knows where she is. If Eileen's in the wizarding part of England, she must be with her family. She couldn't have gotten out of the country without money." explained Horace and gently pulled the letter out of his hands. "I'll post this with the invitation right away." he added as he stood up and turned to leave.


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57: The Letter

Summary: Severus finally finds out why his mother left.

Sirius sighed when he saw Severus was sitting in the windowsill again. He didn't say anything, though. In the past few days, Severus had gone from snappy and irritated to quiet and depressed and Sirius couldn't bring himself to upset him further. The boy smiled half-heartedly as he stepped closer.

"Did you talk to Regulus?" asked Severus.

"Yeah, he'll be leaving with us after graduation." answered Sirius as he sat down on one of the empty beds.

"Is Remus coming, too?"

"I don't know. He's not talking to me." said Sirius. "It's wasn't your fault, Sev. You were right. She had a right to know." he added when he saw the look on his boyfriend's face.

Severus didn't answer. He stared at his hands for a few minutes then looked up. "You should ask Regulus to come to graduation. It will be safe since we're leaving afterwards." he said. "I know you're not a fan of your family, but it'll be nice to have someone there and I think he'll like it, too."

"I haven't thought of that. I'll ask him." answered Sirius. "What about you? Do you have someone coming?"

"I don't know, yet. I invited some of my relatives but I'm not sure if they'll come. They don't really know me." said Severus looking out the window. "I bet it's nice outside. You still owe me a date, you know."

"Severus, we've been over this. You were poisoned. You almost died. You can't just ..."

"Fresh air is supposed to be good for recovery."

"It's not just that, Sev. You know you're not safe here. You can't go wandering outside."

"Then I won't. I'll stay in my quarters. We're leaving in three days, anyway and I haven't even packed my things."

"You can pack the morning before graduation." said Sirius firmly. "Do it for me. I'm scared for you. It's only for a couple of more days."

"I need my privacy, Sirius. I can't stand to be somewhere that anyone can just barge in. We can't even kiss for more than five minutes, let alone do anything else."

Sirius' mouth went dry. "I'm not saying I don't miss having sex with you." he said, swallowing. "I mean, we didn't have much time for that during the Newts, either. But ... we can wait a few more days."

"You really think you can wait?" asked Severus, raising one eyebrow. "I was thinking of trying something new. All we've been doing is wanking. I want to have real sex this time."

Sirius felt his resolve melting away. "You mean? ..." he trailed off as his pants became tight. He shifted in his chair and closed his eyes to compose himself. "You're not getting to me this way, Severus. I can recognize a Slytherin maneuver when I see one."

Severus shrugged. "I'm not going to pretend that I don't have alternative motives but I've wanted to do that for a while. I know you want it, too." he said smirking. His expression changed a second later. "Horace is coming. You see what I mean?"

"What? I don't hear …" Sirius trailed off as the infirmary door opened and Slughorn came in. The man looked grim. "Good evening, boys." he said in false cheer. "I need to speak to Severus alone if you don't mind, Mr. Black." he told Sirius.

Sirius looked at his boyfriend who nodded. "I'll wait outside." he said and stood up.

...

"Horace, don't you want to tell me what's going on?" asked Severus uncomfortably after a few minutes of silence. "Did they answer? Just tell me what it says. I know it was a long shot." he added when the man didn't answer.

Horace sat down with a sigh. "They refuse to come to your graduation and they've asked you not to contact them again."

"Oh" was all Severus could say. He climbed down the window sill and sat next to his Professor on the bed. Even though he hadn't really expected the Prince family to accept him after all these years, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He took the letter Horace was holding out and read the short message. He frowned when he realized his Professor was holding another piece of parchment. "Horace?" he asked.

"This one is from your mother."

"My mother?! She wrote back?" asked Severus excitedly. His face fell as he saw Horace flinch. He took the parchment with shaking hands and took a deep breath before starting to read.

'My dear Severus

You can't imagine how thrilled I was to see your letter. I've always known you had a big heart but I thought you'd hate me for abandoning you. I had promised myself that I'd never leave you behind but I wasn't strong enough.

Ever since I ran away from my family, I've become sickly. It was my punishment for not fulfilling my duty. I tried to ignore it but it got worst with each passing day. I decided to go back when it started to affect my magic, but they wouldn't let me take you with me. In the end I couldn't take the pain. I pray every day that you can forgive me, but I know I don't deserve it.

This is the only time I'm allowed to write to you. I want you to know that I've always been so very proud of you and that I love you with all my heart.

Your mother, Eileen'

Severus couldn't believe what he was reading. He was shaking all over now. Hot rage rushed through his veins. "That's it?! My mother's there and I'm not even allowed to write to her?" he spat. "They did this to her. She's been sick all my life. She could never take care of me. How could they do this to her?" he asked, raising his voice. "Answer me! I know you've read this."

"It's … It's old magic. They can't control it."

"Bullshit!"

"They can't change the family rules. Only the rightful Lord Prince can and there hasn't been one in decades."

"You're lying!" bellowed Severus, blinking back tears.

"What's going on here?!" asked Sirius. He was standing just inside the door.

"You're upset. We'll talk later." said Horace and stormed out.

Severus buried his face in his hands and broke down as soon as the man left. Sirius was at his side a second later and pulled him in a hug. "What's wrong?" he whispered in his hair.

"It's all my fault." Severus whispered back between sobs. "My mom wouldn't get this sick if I it wasn't for me. It's my fault Remus and Lisa broke up. It's all my fault. Everyone would be happier if I wasn't here. I ruin everything."

"No, you don't. You're amazing. You help people, like you did in Hogsmeade. You helped me, too. I would still be a total jerk if it wasn't for you."

"You'd still have your friends. You'd be happier."

"I'm happy when I'm with you. I don't know what I would do without you. I … I love you, Severus. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else."

Severus pull pack and looked at his boyfriend's handsome face. "I love you, too." he said and started to wipe his face with the back of his hand.

Sirius handed him a handkerchief. "What did Slughorn say?"

"Those relatives I invited, they wrote back." said Severus. He hesitated before pointing to the letters. "You can read those if you want."

Sirius frowned as he started to read. His frown deepened after he finished the first letter and picked up the next one. His eyes widened as the realization downed on him. "Eileen Prince is your mother?!" he asked in disbelieve. "That would make you …" he trailed off.

"The half- blood Prince."


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Graduation

Summary: Severus invites Mr. and Mrs. Johnson to graduation.

Remus lingered at the door for a few minutes before going in the infirmary. As Severus looked up from the magazine he was reading, Remus saw guilt in the boy's eyes, he was used to seeing that look on his parents. "Hey, Severus. How are you feeling?" he said before sitting down next to the bed.

"I'm fine." answered Severus quietly.

"Sirius talked to me. He said you feel guilty."

"I do. I shouldn't have meddled."

"I don't blame you for what happened. It's not your fault I'm sick." said Remus with a sigh. "I wouldn't have told her if it wasn't for you but it was the right thing to do. I'm sorry for ignoring you like that. Lisa is the first girl I've ever had the nerve to talk to and I really liked her."

"Was it horrible? Your break up I mean."

"No, not really. She didn't yell or throw anything and she didn't look disgusted. She didn't even say anything. She just left." said Remus. It was the first time he was talking about this.

"If you could go back, would you still tell her?"

Remus looked at his hands "I probably wouldn't, but it's better this way. She knew I was keeping something from her. She would have found out eventually and it would have been ten times worst." he said, feeling a lump form in his throat. "What were you reading?" he asked lamely to change the subject.

For a moment it looked like Severus was about to say something, but he just gave him the magazine.

"Is this the one with your papers?" asked Remus as he started to leaf through it. Severus nodded in response.

…

Severus knocked at the door to his head of house's office before going inside. He had snuck out of infirmary, knowing Sirius would be mad. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Horace." he started. "You were only trying to help."

"It's alright. I understand." said Horace, looking pleased to see him. "Are you ready to talk, now?" he asked.

Severus nodded and sat in front of his professor.

"I wasn't lying about old magic. I've been teaching pureblood children long enough to know what I'm talking about. The Prince Manor is probably as old as Hogwarts and it's built with old magic. Magic like that has a mind of its own. That's why some people mistake it for dark magic. It effected your mother because her act of leaving triggered it and the reason they won't let you in is that the Manor is obeying the last Lord Prince's commands and would only allow purebloods inside. The last Lord, Lady Alfreda was against harming muggles, muggleborns and halfbloods but she didn't approve of them either."

"It's still their fault." said Severus bitterly. "Sirius says they wanted my mother to marry someone much older. They made her leave."

"That is true. Eileen was very young, barely out of school. They could have waited until she was older or let her have a say. They also could have made arrangements so that you and your mother could meet regularly outside of the Manor or at least let you write to her. But you need to realize that their behavior isn't too unusual for a pureblood family. Your mother's grandfather is the head of the Prince household. He's over one hundred years old and it seems he still lives in the olden days." explained Horace, then sighed. "I wish things were different, Severus. You're a bright and driven boy and any family would be lucky to have you as their heir."

"Thank you." said Severus with a sad smile. He then started to play with the edge of his robs.

"Something else on your mind?" asked the professor, knowingly.

"I was wandering." said Severus, willing himself to still his hands. "I know the graduation is tomorrow and it's probably too late, but do you think I could invite someone else?" he asked uncertainly.

Horace frowned. "Who do you want to invite?"

"You remember the muggle couple I visited in the summer and on Christmas day? The Johnsons? I was thinking it would be nice if they came but they don't know anything about magic so I'm not sure if it's a good idea."

"I'll contact them." said Horace reassuringly. "Don't worry. I know how to tell them. I talk to the muggleborns' parents all the time. This shouldn't be much different."

…

Severus put on his dark blue dress robes from fifth year, with the adjusting charms still in place it fitted him quite well. He was trying not to get his hopes up but he still wanted to look his best for graduation. He started to put his things in a bottomless bag when he heard the door open.

"Wow, you look … hot!" said Sirius grinning, before putting his hands around him and kissing him.

Severus kissed him back but pulled away quickly. "Save it for later. I don't want to be late and you're messing up my hair." he said and looked in the mirror to see how much damage Sirius had done while taking a comb out of his bag.

"I thought you wanted to have sex. You said so the other day." said Sirius with a pout.

Severus rolled his eyes. "I don't want to, right now." he said firmly and combed his hair. He looked around the room to make sure he hadn't missed anything. "Could you check the kitchen cabinets?" he added absentmindedly as he went in the living room.

"Fine, but we're having sex when we get home." grumbled Sirius and went to the kitchen.

Severus put a few more things in his bag. "It's not half as nice as here, you know. It's in a rough neighborhood and the house is old and small."

"It doesn't matter. We'll be with each other … and Remus." answered Sirius as he came out of the kitchen and gave Severus a bag of coffee.

"We can't spend too much money either. Remus won't get paid since he's volunteering in the hospital and you're paying for Regulus' tuition."

"Don't worry. I know I'm not big on saving money but I'll try to be more responsible." said Sirius and kissed him lightly on the lips. "See? I didn't mess up anything this time." he said grinning.

Severus smiled. "I love you." he said, kissing him on the cheek. "Now, let's go."

"Love you, too." answered Sirius and held out his arm.

They walked arm in arm in the corridors. It was awfully quiet since it was after curfew and the younger students were in their common rooms. They could hear the excited chatter from the great hall before they got inside. Severus held his breath as they entered and started to look around. There was no sign of the Johnsons or Horace, but they found Regulus easily enough and went over to meet Remus' parents.

After a while Minerva called the students to the head of the room, just like first year, and asked the parents to sit on the single table in the center. Severus had just walked to the other side of the room with his friends, when he saw Horace come in with Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. The muggle couple looked confused and awkward, but their expressions brightened as they saw Severus and waved to him enthusiastically. Severus gave a small wave in return as Dumbledore started his speech.

Severus waited as most of his classmates received their diplomas until Minerva finally called his name. He tried to ignore Dumbledore's false smile and encouraging words when the man gave him his diploma along with a trophy for his academic services to the school and instead focused on the proud faces of his honorary family.


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Home Coming

Summary: Severus and his friends leave Hogwarts.

As soon as the ceremony was over, Severus hurried to where Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were standing. "Hello." he said with a big smile. "I'm glad you came."

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world, dear." said Mrs. Johnson and pulled him in a hug. "We're so proud of you."

"Of course we are! I've always known you were a sharp one, but head of your class for seven years and a trophy? That's something." added Mr. Johnson, beaming.

"This should all be really weird for you. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell you." said Severus soberly.

The Johnsons exchanged a look before turning to him. "It's not as big a surprise as you might think." said Mr. Johnson.

"As weird as this all is, it explains a lot. It's almost a relief to know why your parents were so mysterious and why … they didn't want us around you." explained his wife.

Severus nodded. "I started showing my magic when I was really young. My parents didn't want anyone to find out, so I wasn't even allowed to talk to the kids in school. I made a friend when I was nine, but only because I knew she had magic, too." said Severus, looking at where Lily was standing with her family.

"The Evans' girl? She has magic, too?" asked Mr. Johnson with raised eyebrows.

Severus was about to answer when Sirius and Regulus stepped forward. "You must be Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. Severus has told us so much about you." said Sirius politely. "I'm Sirius Black and this is my brother, Regulus."

"Nice to meet you, boys." said Mr. Johnson as he shook their hands.

"You're Severus' friends?" asked Mrs. Johnson kindly.

"Actually, …" said Severus with a smile and took Sirius' hand in his own. "Sirius is my boyfriend."

The aged couple gaped at them.

"It's not … It's pretty common in the magical world." explained Severus, self- consciously biting his lip. He let go of Sirius' hand and cursed himself for being so stupid. How could he forget that gay couples were not accepted in the muggle world?

They were all silent for a few minutes, the cheerful conversation around the room started to sound taunting to Severus' ears.

Mrs. Johnson was the first one to recover. "Well, people seem to do things different here. There's nothing wrong with that if it makes you happy. Isn't that right, Thomas?" she asked, elbowing his husband.

"Ah …, yes. Of course. It's not weirder than floating candles and enchanted ceilings, now is it?" said Mr. Johnson with a sheepish smile.

Severus smiled back, feeling a huge weight off of his shoulders.

"Just try to be careful around the house, alright?" said Mr. Johnson. "You are coming home, aren't you?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes, with Sirius and our other friend Remus. We have to drop Regulus off at summer school tonight, so we'll probably get home late." answered Severus quietly, mindful of all the people around them.

"You all have to come over for lunch tomorrow, then. Do you still like Spaghetti? You used to love it when you were a kid."

"I do."

...

It was after midnight when they got home. Severus was a little uneasy about Sirius and Remus seeing where he had grown up. "I know it's dirty. No one's been living here for almost two years." he said apologetically as he opened the windows to let in some air.

"We'll clean up tomorrow. Let's just go to bed."

"Yeah, sleep sounds good. I'm taking the couch." said Remus and sat heavily on a dusty chair.

"No, you can't sleep here. You'll hurt your back." said Severus, frowning. "You can sleep in my room. Sirius and I will take my parents' room."

With that they went upstairs. Severus showed Remus to his room before taking Sirius to the room at the end of the hall. He stood by the door and watch Sirius as the boy took in his surroundings.

"Need help getting out of those robes?" asked Sirius with a wolfish grin when he noticed Severus' eyes on him.

"Sure." said Severus with a smile. Sirius stepped closer and started to unbutton his dress robes as he put small kisses on his jaw and neck. Severus put his arms around the other boy's wide shoulders to steady himself and closed his eyes. Soon, they found themselves on the bed.

"Wait! Let me clean the sheets." said Severus and fumbled in his robes for his wand. He tried to concentrate as Sirius opened his shirt and started to cast cleaning spells on the bed. He gave up as soon as Sirius's tongue reached his nipple and let the wand fall to the floor. "Do that again." he whispered and arched his back as his boyfriend complied.

Sirius started rubbing his erection against Severus' thigh as he moved his mouth to the slighter boy's stomach. Severus could feel his own desire grow and put his legs around Sirius' back to pull him closer.

"Severus! I … ah …I'm going to come. Do you still … want to do it?" asked Sirius urgently.

"Yeah, … let me get my wand." answered Severus. He found Sirius' lips and kissed him deeply before taking off his robes and shirt all the way and kicking off his pants. He then bent over to get his wand.

"Oh, god!" he heard Sirius moan above him. Severus smirked to himself and laid back down, holding his wand.

"Do you think..? Would you let me to be …"

"You want to top?" asked Severus, still smirking. "Take off your clothes, then" he ordered.

Sirius wasted no time to get rid of his clothes before pulling his boyfriend into another kiss. "What do I do? Should I get lube or something?"

"Do you have lube?" asked Severus with a raised eyebrow.

"No … but .. I could …"

"It's alright. I'll take care of it." said Severus. He sent their clothes to the other side of the room with a wave of his wand and leaned back on the bed before casting the necessary preparing spells.

"You're ready?" asked Sirius, already positioning himself.

"Yeah, just go slow." answered Severus.

Sirius took his time as he started to push in and held Severus close as they made love. It was gentle and passionate, even though it didn't last long, and they fell sleep afterwards in each other's arms.


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60: The First of Many

Summary: Severus and his friends' first day together at Spinner's end.

Sirius blinked blearily. He hugged Severus tighter and grinned to himself as the memories from last night came back to him. Severus was sleeping peacefully with his mouth slightly open. It was the first time Sirius could remember waking up before his boyfriend. He raised a hand to caress the boy's silky hair and started to put small kisses on his long pale neck.

He had moved to the collar bones when Severus shifted a little and opened his black eyes. Sirius felt a jolt of happiness when Severus smiled at the sight of him and pulled him in a kiss.

"Good morning, handsome." whispered Severus, putting a hand on his cheek.

"Morning, love." answered Sirius. "Let's stay like this all day."

Severus chuckled. "Who do you think is going to clean the house and make breakfast?"

"Isn't that why we brought Remus with us?" asked Sirius in mock confusion.

Severus chuckled again. "Boy! You get mean when you're horny." he said, sitting up.

"Speaking of which ..." Sirius trailed off and ran his eyes over the other boy's body suggestively.

Severus kissed him on the cheek this time. "Not right now. I'm still sore."

"Oh" said Sirius, his playful mood vanishing. "I didn't know I was hurting you. Why didn't say anything?"

"You didn't hurt me. It was great." answered Severus, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Sirius frowned. "But you said you're sore."

"It always hurts a little and it was only your first time." said Severus, still holding his hand.

"So, ... You've done that before?" asked Sirius. He couldn't help but feel disappointed. Last night had been his first time with a boy and it had been ... magical. It hadn't occur to him that Severus might not feel the same way.

Severus nodded. "It was still great, Sirius." he said, as though he could read his thoughts.

"Was it better with Evan?" asked Sirius bitterly before he could stop himself. "Sorry ... I didn't mean to say that." he added hastily when he saw Severus' expression darken.

"Why would say that?!" snapped Severus. "Why would you bring up my ex while we're still in bed together?"

"I'm sorry, Severus. It just came out ... I wasn't thinking." mumbled Sirius.

Severus sighed and got out of bed. "Get your things. We should take a shower." he said quietly and started to pull things out of his bottomless bag.

"You can go first."

Severus sighed again. "We're going together. There's not that much hot water and we both need a shower."

Sirius didn't argue. He picked up his own bag and got his things ready. He didn't take his eyes off of Severus' face as they went to the small bathroom. "You're still upset." he observed.

Severus didn't say anything. He turned the nub and waited until the water was clear before stepping under the shower head. "Come on, Sirius. We should save some hot water for Remus." he said as he picked up his soap.

Sirius tore his eyes from the other boy's lean form with difficulty and started to wash his hair. He had pictured the two of them in the shower many times but never like this.

The two of them showered as fast as they could and went downstairs to make breakfast.

"Alright." said Severus as he started to look inside his bag. "We have coffee, tea, sugar, bread for toast and raspberry jam." he continued as he pulled the items out of the bag one by one. He then started to look in the cabinets for dishes.

Sirius cleared his throat. "That's great. Do you think we should wake Remus?" he said, trying to break the silence.

"Yeah, would you go get him?" asked Severus without looking up.

"Yeah ... Alright." answered Sirius and went upstairs. He shook Remus awake and waited until the boy took his shower, not wanting to go down alone. By the time they got to the kitchen, Severus had washed the dishes and was slicing the bread.

"Morning, Sev." said Remus groggily.

"Good morning. Could you guys make coffee?" asked Severus.

"Sure. I've got it." offered Sirius quickly, eager to get on Severus' good side. When he was done with that, he set the table. He looked up curiously as he saw Severus moving over to the counter. "What is that?" he asked.

"Hmmm? This? It's a toaster."

"A toaster?" asked Remus and they both stepped closer.

Severus bit his lip, probably to stop himself from laughing. "You push the lever down and then put your breads in the slots and wait." he explained as he put two pieces of bread into the toaster.

Sirius and Remus both jumped a little when the toasts poped out. Severus chuckled, shaking his head.

Sirius felt himself relax. "Can we try it?" he asked, grinning.

"Alright. Just be careful. You're not supposed to put fork or anything metal in the slots or you get electrocuted." said Severus sternly. "You should pick up the toast with hand, like this." he continued and plated the bread. He then stepped aside to let them try out the toaster.

Severus' eyes were stilling dancing with mirth as they sat to eat. "We have a lot to do, today." he said as he poured the coffee. "I think we should start with the cleaning right after breakfast. We're going to the Johnsons' house for lunch and after that we should go shopping and unpack."

"Are you sure they're expecting all of us for lunch?" asked Remus uncomfortably.

Severus frowned a little. "Yes, they invited all of us but you don't have to come if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine." said Remus. "Have you told them about me?"

"Not really. They didn't know magic existed until yesterday, so they don't know much." answered Severus.

Remus nodded in response. He looked relieved. They finished their breakfast in silence. When they were done, Sirius started to collect the plates.

"Leave it." said Severus, standing up. "To be honest, I don't trust either of you with cleaning the kitchen and the living room. There's too many electronic stuff. You guys do the rest of the house. There's the bedrooms, the bathroom, the staircase and the corridors."

"Why can't we clean up together?" asked Sirius.

"Because it will take longer and I don't know if you've noticed, but the rooms here aren't big enough for the three of us to move around without getting in each other's way." explained Severus.

"How about only the two of us? It'll be much more fun." said Sirius mischievously.

"Oh, no! You're coming upstairs with me." snapped Remus. "I've had enough of you two for now!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You woke me up last night! How hard is it to cast a silencing charm?!"

"Sorry, Remus." mumbled Severus, blushing crimson.

"Yeah, sorry. It was my fault. I just couldn't wait to …"

"I don't need to hear the details! Come on." answered Remus and dragged him out of the kitchen. He took over the corridors and staircase and sent Sirius to clean the bathroom and the bedrooms upstairs.

Sirius had never been very good at cleaning spells but he could tell this house was important to his boyfriend, so he put all his strength behind casting the charms and didn't leave any surface until it was completely clean. He didn't know how much time passed, he was looking at their bedroom with a critical eye, checking to see if he had missed anything, when he felt slender arms wrapping around his waist from behind.

"How did you get it so clean? Everything's sparkling!" asked Severus in awe.

Sirius turned his head and found Severus' lips. "Are we OK?" he asked after kissing his boyfriend breathless.

Severus let go of his waist and sat on the bed with a sigh. "Why do you get so jealous?" he asked. There was no anger in his voice.

"It hurts, knowing he was your first." admitted Sirius.

"Why does it matter? I'm with you, now."

"It's just … sometimes it looks like you still have feeling for him." said Sirius and sat down next to Severus on the bed. "You kept the broom he gave you but you never ride it."

"Do you want me to get rid of the broom?" asked Severus after a few minutes of silence.

"No, it's not about the broom. It's the way you get when his name comes up."

"He was my boyfriend and with what he did … I'm sorry, Sirius but I can't pretend it didn't happen. He broke my heart." said Severus, running a hand through his hair. "Look, you don't need to worry about Evan. There was a reason we broke up."

"I know. He wanted to look into your trunk."

"No, that wasn't it. We did break up at that point, but it never would have worked out. We wanted different things and I couldn't be honest with him."

"I didn't know that." said Sirius quietly. "Do you ever think what if …" he couldn't bring himself to finish that thought.

"No, I don't. I used to, but not anymore. What we had was good but we weren't in love." answered Severus sincerely.

"Really?" said Sirius with a grin.

Severus nodded. "And if it makes you feel better, you were my first kiss."

"I was?" asked Sirius, frowning.

"Yeah, remember Slughorn's party?" said Severus, then smirked. "I'm not sure if it counts since it was one sided but you did shove your tongue down my throat."

"Oh, it counts." said Sirius, smirking back. "It was my first time this morning. You know, taking a shower with someone." he added.

"Me, too."

"Maybe we can fix the water and take a really long one next time."

"Sounds good to me." said Severus and kissed him.

The rest of the day went much better. Sirius' favorite part, though was their lunch at the Johnsons, who insisted they should call them Thomas and Martha from now on. The couple were warm and friendly and it was obvious that they adored Severus.

...

The leaving feast was as grand as ever. The great hall was lit with numerous candles and the ceiling showed a clear sky. Albus Dumbledore made his speech and announced Gryffindor as the champion of the house cup with pride. He watched the lions cheer and hummed in approval as he noticed the head boy and head girl hugging in joy.

The Headmaster sat down and frowned as he filled his plate. He felt he was missing something. Chewing thoughtfully, he looked at the Gryffindor table again. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were absent, he realized finally. Severus Snape was not in his seat either.

It was disrespectful. The boy was a member of the staff, after all as Slughorn's teaching assistant. Albus made note to have a talk with him about the importance of following the school traditions. He sighed to himself. This wasn't going to be easy. He couldn't decide which task would be more challenging, getting the stubborn boy to behave or convincing the board of governors to agree to his appointment as the potions Master in such a young age. The board members had been at odds with him since the incident with Dolohove. Hopefully the Slytherin's academic accomplishments would do the trick. The board had been impressed enough to insist on giving him a trophy, after all. Albus had been against it at the time, but he wasn't above using it to his advantage.

When the feast was finally over and the students left the hall, the Headmaster stood up and walked in the corridor. He waited until he was alone before activating the tracking charm he had put on Snape's wand and then made his way to the boy's quarters. The Headmaster knocked and waited at the door for a few minutes. When no answer came, he waved his wand and the door opened obediently.

The aged wizard frowned when he didn't find anyone inside, it wasn't like the paranoid boy to leave his wand behind. He activated the charm again and followed the trace to the empty bookshelf at the corner of the living room, only to find a quill sitting there.

"What in bloody Merlin's name?!" he snapped to no one in particular and broke the quill in half.


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61: The Church

Summary: Severus meets Lily at her dad's memorial service.

Severus took a sip of his coffee as he went through the mail. It had been almost a week since they had moved to Spinner's End and things were falling in place. The house was livable again and they had warded the property along with the Johnson's house.

Things were great at work, too. Severus loved his job. He had a well-equipped lab all to himself and spent the whole day experimenting and brewing. It was nice to focus all of his time and energy doing what he loved instead of juggling several responsibilities at a time, like he had to do at Hogwarts. Remus seemed happy, too. He was learning a lot and he had managed to find some new friends, which was a big deal to him. And Sirius …. Well, Sirius still wasn't sure what he was going to do. He had been planning to become an Auror since he was eleven, mostly because that was what James Potter had wanted to do, but now he was trying to find something he was actually passionate about. For now, he was keeping himself busy with redecorating the house. He used his transfiguration skills, since they couldn't afford to spend money on something like that.

"That yours?" asked Severus as he spotted a muggle newspaper in the stack.

"Yeah." answered Sirius and took the paper with a grin.

"What are you doing with that?" asked Remus.

Sirius shrugged. "Looking for a job. Mrs. Johnson said they have ads." he explained as he leafed through the pages. "See?" he added as he found the right page.

Severus smiled to himself and got back to the mail. "This is from Horace." he announced as he opened the envelope.

"What does it say?"

"Dumbledore's mad. He had a fight with Horace … and with Minerva. He knows she took down the wards." said Severus as he read the letter. "He says it's only a matter of time before the old man finds out where I work, that I should be ready."

"I don't understand. Why does he care so much? He already has a pretty good potion Master." asked Remus, frowning.

Severus sighed. "Who knows what goes on in his head. I think he just likes to control people. Let's not talk about this. Did you find anything good in the ads?"

"Yeah, there's plenty of great stuff. Like this one; delivery guy." said Sirius, putting the paper in front of Severus. "It even says I should have a motorbike. I've always wanted to get one. You know, one of the big ones with handles like this." he added, as he moved his hands excitedly in the air.

Severus' eyes widened. "Do you have any idea how dangerous those things are?!"

"Don't you think they're cool?" asked Sirius, disappointed. "I bet I could make it fly. You know, like a broom but much faster."

"Yes, because that's going to make it safe." snapped Severus, then sighed as he saw the look on his boyfriend's face. "They're too expensive anyway. If you want one, you have to find a job first." he said and looked down at the paper. He frowned as his eyes fell on a familiar face in the obituary section. 'Joseph Evans' was written under the photo in fine print.

"Severus?" asked Sirius. "What's wrong?"

"Mr. Evans; Lily's dad. He's dead. He had a heart attack." answered Severus, numbly "But he was always so …. healthy." he continued as he looked into space.

"It says he was forty six, that's young." said Remus as he took the paper out of his hands. "There's a service tomorrow. Are you going?"

"I don't know. Probably not." said Severus, standing up. "Come on, Remus. We're going to be late for work."

...

Severus stood outside of the church for a few minutes longer. He had gotten a couple of hours off of work and had apparated right behind the cemetery. He ran a hand over the suit he had transfigured out of his work robes and stepped inside. No one seemed to notice him as he slipped in the last row.

Severus sat there looking at his hands as he listened to Mrs. Evans' speech and other people he didn't recognize. He was the first one to stand up when the service was over and walked out hurriedly. He cursed under his breath when he heard Lily calling his name. He tried to ignore her, but stopped in his tracks as she called him again, not wanting to make a scene. Lily was by his side in a second.

"Severus Tobias Snape!" she yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you?! You come to my dad's service but you don't have the sense to say your condolences?" she continued. Her tone was laced with disgust and her eyes were flashing with anger.

"I don't recall you saying condolences when MY dad died!" spat Severus.

"You're disrespectful and …." Lily trailed off in her rant, her eyes widening. "Your … your dad? When did he die?"

"I see your parents didn't bother to tell you. They were there though, with Petunia. I don't know what trash you told them about me but they wouldn't even look at me while I was burying my father." said Severus bitterly. He watched as the anger vanished from Lily's face and was replaced with guilt and compassion.

"I'm sorry." she said.

Severus could see that she was sincere but he couldn't bring himself to care. He turned to leave, but Lily grabbed his arm before he could get far.

"Would you stay for the reception?" she said desperately. "For me?" she added giving him the puppy eye look, the look that used to melt his heart and make him cater to her every whim.

"I didn't come for you! I came for your dad. He used to be nice to me." he answered. Lily let go of his arm and took a few steps back, as if he had slapped her.

Severus turned on his heels and walked away as fast as he could, without paying attention to where he was going. He had almost gotten to the park when he became aware of his surroundings and changed his path abruptly to head home.

...

Severus was alone at home. Remus and Sirius had gone shopping and he had insisted on staying home and cooking dinner. He hadn't been feeling like himself ever since the memorial service. Memories of his horrific childhood kept coming back to him, his parents' fighting, his mother's sickness, the poverty and worst of all the loneliness.

His friendship with Lily and his hopes and dreams of becoming a wizard had been the only thing that had gotten him through all that and now it was tainted. He couldn't stop himself from going through his meetings with Lily in the park, trying to figure out if their friendship had been real, if she had cared for him at all.

He was chopping up vegetables, deep in thought, when he felt the wards around the house tingle. He put down the sharp knife and looked out the window. He watched as a familiar figure walked up to the front door and rang the bell, before going to open the door.

"Good evening, Mrs. Evans." he said politely, as he opened the door.

"Hello, Severus. Is it OK if I come in?" asked Mrs. Evans with a strained smile.

"Yes, of course. Come in. Would you like some tea?"

"That would be lovely, thank you." said Mrs. Evans as she followed Severus to the kitchen. "It sure is changed in here."

"It's mostly magic." answered Severus as he pulled back a chair for the aged woman.

"Look what a gentleman you've become." said Mrs. Evans with a warmer smile. Severus gave a small smile in response and walked up to the counter to prepare the tea.

"I see you do most things with magic." observed Mrs. Evans.

Severus smiled again as he put the tea and a plate of biscuits on the table, not knowing what to say. He was at a loss. The woman hadn't talk to him in two years and yet here she was, acting like nothing has happened.

"Lily talked to me." said Mr. Evans as if reading his thoughts. "She had told Joe and me, a few years ago, that you had gotten involved with a criminal group at school." she started, pausing to take a sip of her tea. "She's been at war with herself these past few days. She told me this morning that you were no longer involved with those people."

"Oh" was all Severus could manage to say in answer.

"It was such a relief. I'm glad you found your way." continued Mrs. Evans. and squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry for being short with you all this time. Joe and I, we were just worried about Lily. We didn't want her dragged into it."

"I understand." said Severus, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"It was good of you to come to the service. Joe loved you like his own son. I wish he knew you have changed your ways before he died." said Mrs. Evans, then smiled to herself. "You know, Lily worshiped you when you were kids, Joe and I used to joke that you two would get married someday."

"I'm sure that's not true." said Severus, frowning. "Lily was always a popular girl. I was the one following her around."

"Nonsense. I know you two drifted apart when you went to Hogwarts, but Lily used to be crazy about you. It was always Severus this and Severus that. She could talk for hours about how smart you were and how much you knew about magic. It drove Petunia mad. They were fighting about you all the time."

Severus looked Mrs. Evans in the eyes as she talked. He could see she meant every word. Little by little he felt his tension vanish. Their friendship had once been real, at least for a while.

"She misses you, Severus and she really needs a friend right now."

Severus shook his head. "We're not friends anymore. Things were different when we got to Hogwarts. She acted like she was too good to spend time with me because I wasn't popular like her. And she's wrong about me, I've never done anything illegal in my entire life!" he said unable to stop himself.

Mrs. Evans gave him a look filled with sympathy. "I know she's not perfect. Perhaps one day you'll find it in your heart to forgive her." she said as she squeezed his hand again. "Thank you for the tea." she added as she stood up.

"Thank you for coming." said Severus, standing up as well. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Mrs. Evans hesitated for a second before pulling him in a hug.


	62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Reunion

Summary: Remus runs into Lisa.

Remus sighed to himself as he opened the supply closet and chose a few potion vials to take back to the emergency room. It was a busy day at the hospital. That morning in Diagon alley someone had recognized a Death Eater, who had attacked his relatives, and started to duel the man and his companions. The crowd in the alley had joined in on the duel and the Death Eater somehow managed to call for help. It had been chaos and things only got worse when the Aurors had arrived. If this had happened in a couple of weeks, when the students went to get school supplies or on a weekend when the alley was more crowded, the results would have been tragic. As it was, St. Mungo's emergency room was filled with patients, some with minor or imaginary injuries and some with fatal wounds.

Remus ran a hand tiredly through his hair and braced himself for going back inside. He had no reason to be complaining, not really. This was the first time in weeks he was doing real work. Remus made his way to the corner of the room, where people with serious injuries were placed, with difficulty. He was almost there when he felt someone staring at him. He wished he had ignored it the moment he turned around. Lisa was looking at him from behind her round spectacles, which made her warm brown eyes look slightly bigger. Her ponytail was messy and her robes were wrinkled but somehow she managed to look as pretty as she always did.

Remus met her gaze for a few moments before turning back to his task. He gave the potions to the waiting healers, almost dropping one and rushed to where Severus was bending over a man with a head wound.

"Hey, Severus." he said shakily. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, sure." answered Severus, as he straightened and wiped his hands on a cloth.

"Oh, hi Andrew." added Remus as he recognized the handsome mediwizard standing next to his friend. The boy nodded in acknowledgement without looking up.

"What's up, Remus?" asked Severus.

"Nothing. It's just … Lisa is here." answered Remus with a sigh.

"Is she alright?"

"Yeah, I think she's here with someone. Our eyes met for a moment and it was really awkward. What do I do?"

"You want to go talk to her?"

"No." said Remus, shaking his head. "I can't."

"Who's Lisa?" asked Andrew, suddenly joining the conversation.

"They used to go out." explained Severus.

"Hmmm." hummed Andrew in answer as he stepped away from his patient. "You guys mind finishing up?" he asked and started to run his wand over his robes to get the blood out. "Which one is she?"

"The one over there. With the ponytail and glasses." said Remus as he picked up some bandage.

"You might know her. She's Ravenclaw." added Severus.

"Oh, yeah. Nice girl." commented Andrew. "She's here with her mother."

"How is she? Her mom I mean." asked Remus in concern.

"She'll be fine. They're going to take her to the spell damage ward, soon."

"That's good. I wish I could hide somewhere until then." said Remus.

"You can come help me brew blood replenishing." offered Severus.

"Yeah, good idea. We're running low." said Andrew before moving on to another patient.

Severus and Remus worked in union for a few minutes before leaving the crowded room, Remus hiding behind his tall friend. On their way to the lab, a family of red heads caught Remus's eyes. He blinked as he recognized Molly Prewett. She had a baby on her hip and was holding a small boy's hand. A red headed man, Arthur Weasley it seemed, was petting her back as if trying to calm her. Remus was about to say hi, but stopped when he noticed Severus tense by his side.

"Mr. Snape, Mr. Lupin. What a pleasant surprise." said a familiar voice.

Remus jumped a little, he had been too distracted to notice the aged wizard who was blocking their way "Hello, professor." he said politely.

"Professor." murmured Severus dismissively and made to move past Dumbledore, but the Headmaster didn't budge.

"I can't help but notice you boys are wearing hospital robes. I don't recall either of you being interested in healing."

"Whether you recall or not, sir, Remus IS interested in healing." answered Severus irritatedly.

Dumbledore frowned, turning his questioning gaze to him.

"Um … yes, sir. I'm only volunteering right now but I really want to become a healer." said Remus with a touch of pride.

"There's no question in your abilities, my boy." started Dumbledore, pinning him with his piercing eyes. "But you must realize with your condition it's a long shot at best." he continued, his tone laced with sympathy and regret.

"When there's will, there's a way." said Severus firmly.

Dumbledore blinked in confusion. "I don't believe I've heard that saying."

"That doesn't make it any less true."

Dumbledore's frown deepened. "And you Mr. Snape? Are you also pursuing a career as healer?"

"I'm the hospital's brewer and right now we need to brew more blood replenishing potion, the sooner the better."

"Very well, I won't keep you then." answered the Headmaster. "But I wanted to have a word with you, Remus."

"Yeah, sure." said Remus quickly, eager to get this over with. "You go ahead, Severus. I'll be right there."

Severus frowned but nodded. "Don't be late." he said and walked away.

Dumbledore watched him go, then casted a few privacy spells before turning to Remus with twinkling eyes. "I've been meaning to contact you, my boy." he said, casually. "I have gathered a group of my most trusted students and their families. We're working together to stand up to the Death Eaters and bring down Voldemort."

"Didn't know." Remus managed to say and looked away from the man's searching gaze.

"Your friend James Potter and his family are among them, so are the Weasleys, the Prewetts, the Longbottoms and the Tonkses and many others. We've accomplished a lot in the short time but we are desperately in need of someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"Yes, my boy. Lord Voldemort isn't limiting his efforts to the wizarding population and neither should we."

"I… I don't understand. What exactly are you asking me?" asked Remus, feeling his heart beat faster.

Dumbledore gave him a look. "I think you do. There are packs of werewolves running wild all around Europe and we need information on their activities."

Remus paled, even though he had seen Dumbledore cast privacy spells, he looked around to make sure no one could hear them.

"You were offered a rare chance to get an education and mature your magic, now it's time for you to use your abilities to make our world better."

"So, you want me to do what exactly? Go chasing after packs and spy on them?"

Dumbledore nodded. "You'll need to try and get them to accept you, that way you can figure out their motives and loyalties. I can't go into details here, but I believe …"

"No." said Remus quietly.

"I beg your pardon?" snapped Dumbledore.

"I said no. I don't need to ruin my life to make the world better. I'm already helping people." said Remus, feeling his anger rising.

"You really think you're doing your part by volunteering here? Cleaning sheets and getting tea? You don't think other people don't make sacrifices? They fight in the battle every day."

"Stop trying to make me feel bad! I might not be normal but I have a right to live my life like everybody else. Those people you mentioned, they all come from powerfully families and have good jobs. I don't have any of those things." said Remus bitterly.

"If you're worried about money, I'm sure we can arrange for something." reasoned Dumbledore.

"I'm not a charity case!"

"Now, now, Remus. Let's not get carried away …" said Dumbledore.

"This conversation is over." Remus cut him off, feeling a little childish satisfaction at the look on Dumbledore's face. He turned on his heels and headed for the lab.

Severus had already started to work, he had four cauldrons set up and was preparing the ingredients. Remus picked up a knife and got to work. It took about two hours to finish the brewing and another hour to bottle the potions. They spent the rest of the day in the emergency room and got home quite late.

They found Sirius sleeping on the couch in his red McDonald's uniform, with the TV on.

"Sirius?" whispered Severus, shaking him awake. "I told you we'd be late. Why didn't you go to bed?"

"Wasn't tired." answered Sirius, rubbing at his eyes. "You guys hungry? I put a warming charm on the food."

"We had dinner at the hospital but I'm still kind of hungry."

"Yeah, I could eat." said Remus. He picked up some fries from a package and chewed, deep in thought as he watched Severus and Sirius share a burger.

...

Remus rubbed his sweating palms on his robes before knocking on the half closed door.

Lisa looked up from the book on her lap and stared at him for a second. "Come in." she said finally, closing her book.

"How's your mom?"

"She'll be fine." answered Lisa, looking at the woman sleeping on the bed. "She caught one of the curses meant for a Death Eater."

"That's … terrible."

"I wasn't there when it happened, but my aunt said it was pretty scary."

"Yeah, I can imagine." said Remus lamely, then cleared his throat. "I'm sorry I didn't come over to talk to you, yesterday. I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me."

Lisa smiled. "It's OK. It was kind of funny, watching you hide behind Severus." she teased, making Remus blush. "I'm actually the one that needs to apologize." she added more seriously. "When you told me that you were … I was just so shocked. You always looked like such a normal guy and I couldn't comprehend how you could be anything else."

"I like to pretend that I'm just like everybody else but I'm not." said Remus with a sigh. "If I was normal I would have gotten into healer training and would be working here for real instead of pretending."

"It didn't look like you were pretending, yesterday." said Lisa, standing up and taking both of his hands in her own. "Watching you work made me realize it doesn't really matter what you are."

"It does matter. I turn into a monster every month and I …" Remus' rant was cut short when Lisa's lips met his.

"I don't care." whispered Lisa.

"Are you … are you just saying that because you feel sorry for me?" Remus whispered back, not daring to look Lisa in the eye.

"No, Remus. You're the nicest guy I've ever met. I don't want to lose you." she said firmly. Remus felt his resolve melt and kissed her hungrily.


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63: Good News  
Summary: Severus and his friends plan for their future.

Severus closed his eyes, appreciating the aroma of coffee as he poured hot water over the rich powder. He was startled when he heard the door open and turned around with a smile, expecting to see Sirius. He blinked in surprise when he saw a girl walk in.

"Hi, Severus … um, Remus said it was OK, I'm sorry if …." said the black haired girl, standing by the door.

"Oh, no. I mean of course it's alright." said Severus hastily. "Come in, Lisa. I was just making breakfast. Do you prefer coffee or tea?"

"Tea, please." answered Lisa as she came closer. "Can I help?"

"I was going to make scrambled eggs, I've mixed it in that bowl there and the pan is on the counter."

"Alright, I'm on it." said Lisa cheerfully. She picked up the pan, then stood by the stove staring at it with a frown.

"You want me to turn on the stove?" asked Severus, noticing her awkwardness.

"Yeah, you should." said Lisa with a half-smile. "Wow, Remus wasn't kidding. Everything is muggle in here. How did you guys find this place?"

"There you go." murmured Severus as he adjusted the flames on the burner. "It's the house I grew up in."

"I didn't know you were muggle-born."

"Half-blood. My father was muggle, he …" Severus trailed off, recognizing Sirius' footsteps. "Sirius! Put on a shirt, we have company." he said loudly.

"What?" asked Sirius, poking his head in the kitchen. "Oh, hey Lisa. I … I'll be right back." he said and rushed back upstairs.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine. My cousins are all boys, I'm used to it." said Lisa, waving it off. "Is the egg alright?" she asked, taking the pan off the burner.

"It's good." answered Severus and set the table.

"Good morning." said Remus groggily as he came in, Sirius following closely. "Finally! There's tea for breakfast." he exclaimed happily.

"The egg looks good." commented Sirius as he sat in the chair next to Severus.

"Lisa make it."

"I just fried it, Severus did everything else. I couldn't even turn on the stove." said Lisa and let Remus fill her plate.

"Been there." said Sirius with a grin. "So, you're pureblood all the way, too?"

"Kind of. My grandmother's muggle-born, which makes my mom half-blood, but the rest are pure-bloods." explained Lisa as she started on her breakfast. They ate in silence for a few minutes.

"What do you do these days, Lisa? You wanted to study arithmancy, right?" asked Severus, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Yeah, I'm going to apprentice for my uncle. He's one of the best Masters in the subject." answered Lisa.

"She's also going to be working for the ministry, as secretary." added Remus.

"That's impressive." said Sirius.

Lisa shrugged. "Tell that to my mom. Ever the Ravenclaw, she thinks I should go to muggle college at the same time and study mathematics."

"Huh, and I thought Slytherins were the crazy ones."

"Hey!" exclaimed Severus.

"Not you. You're more cute than crazy, even though you're part Ravenclaw on top of being Slytherin." teased Sirius, earning a glare from Severus.

"So,.." said Remus, clearing his throat. "Wouldn't it be expensive? Going to muggle college?"

"No, their government pays for it. They even give the students a little money to help with their expenses."

"Wow! That's great." said Remus with a spark in his eyes. "And how do you get in? Does our Hogwarts degree count?"

"It does. You just have to contact the ministry and they sent you a diploma." explained Lisa, then narrowed her eyes. "You're not trying to convince me to go, are you?"

"What? No! I'm just curious is all." answered Remus sheepishly and busied himself with his eggs.

"Sirius! Guess what?!" said Remus excitedly as soon as Sirius came into the living room.

"I don't know. Something good on TV? Is that show with the …"

"I'm going to medical school!"

"You're going to what school?" asked Sirius, frowning.

"It's muggle for healing school. Remember what Lisa said this morning? Severus helped me do some research, it's all true! With my NEWT scores I can definitely get in.I'll have to take a few muggle curses first but the ministry offers tutors for free. I'm going to start applying tomorrow. Isn't it amazing?! Severus says muggle medicine isn't as advanced as ours, but still!"

"That IS amazing! Good for you." answered Sirius, grinning to his friend. "Oh, hi Severus." he added as his eyes fell on his boyfriend, sitting on the couch.

Remus turned to Severus as well. "Can you believe this? Both of us getting such great news in the same week!"

Sirius was about to ask what good news Severus had gotten, but Remus started talking again.

"Do you think I should tell my parents or should I wait after I've been actually accepted? Yeah, that's probably best. You know how they get. They might even try to talk me out of it, they're too afraid of people finding out about me." Remus paused in his rambling to take a breath and frowned, deep in thought. "Do you think I should change my name? It's weird to muggels isn't it? Though, it's going to be hard, getting used to another name. I don't even have a nickname, I mean I don't think Remy or Moony are going to work. What about …"

"You'll be fine." Severus cut him off. "Severus isn't a popular name either."

"What about my clothes? I don't want to be the one with an odd name and odd clothes. Can we go shopping? I'll need to borrow some money but I wouldn't want to put you out …"

Sirius sat down next to Severus on the couch with a grin as his excited friend rambled on. He couldn't remember seeing Remus this happy in all the years they've been friends.

It was late when they retired for the night. Severus had convinced Remus to go to sleep so that they can work on his applications in the morning before work.

Sirius took a good look at his boyfriend as he got out of his work clothes. "So, what was the good news you got?" he asked.

Severus tensed for a moment. He busied himself with his boots for a moment before looking at Sirius. "What do you mean?"

"Remus said something about both of you getting good news this week." explained Sirius.

"Oh, it's nothing. It was just a job offer, but I've been thinking about it and I don't want to take it." answered Severus, slipping under the covers.

Sirius frowned as he laid down next to Severus. "Why are you lying?"

"I'm not lying!" snapped Severus.

"Fine. But there's something you're not telling me. What was this offer?" asked Sirius, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Like I said, I'm not taking the job."

"Then why can't you tell me what it was?"

Severus sighed in defeat. He was quiet for a moment before turning to him. "Master Belby came to see me on Monday." he started.

"Who's that?"

"Horace's old student. He's a potion Master." explained Severus. "He's working on a potion for werewolves to help them remain calm in wolf form. He didn't give me any details, but he said the potion is turning out too complicated and he suspects only a handful of people will be able to brew it, which makes it kind of pointless."

"Let me guess, he read your paper on simplifying the brewing process." said Sirius, trying to keep up.

Severus nodded. "He wants me on his team. He offered to take me on as apprentice."

"I thought you didn't want an apprenticeship, right now. Can't you work out something else? It seems like a good opportunity."

Severus sighed again. "We talked about it. I told him I was saving up for a Mastery and he said he can get me into university and that he'll pay for my classes."

"Well, that's great. Why didn't you tell me?" asked Sirius, his frown deepening.

"Because … It's in Germany. Belby has his lab set up there because it gives him better access to test subjects and the university is there, too, which means I'd have to move to Germany."

"So? Germany's got good universities and it's much safer than England. I know the language is a bit hard but you'll catch on." said Sirius, trying hard to figure out what was going on in his boyfriend's head.

"I don't want to go because I don't want to leave you, you bloody jackass!" snapped Severus, finally losing his temper.

"What is wrong with you, Severus?! You think I wouldn't come with you?" Sirius shot back.

"And what are you going to do in Germany? Work in McDonald's?" demanded Severus, getting more worked up.

"Why not? If not McDonald's, then somewhere else."

"What about finding your dream job? Something you actually like." said Severus slowly, as if talking to a child.

"Who cares? I'm not going to let you lose an opportunity like this just because I don't know what to do with my life. You're the brilliant one." answered Sirius.

"You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit and I'm going to be just fine, here." said Severus and kissed him deeply, swallowing his protests. "St. Mungo's wants me to stay. Their research is over but they still want me as brewer. Once the results from our research are published, I might get better offers."

"What if you don't? What if this is the best offer you'll ever get?"

"Since when are you so cynical? Everything's going to work out. You'll see." said Severus. "I'm happy here. I don't want to ruin that."

"But…"

"Just forget it, alright? I already have." said Severus in a no nonsense tone.

Sirius didn't say anything, he laid staring at the ceiling for most of the night as he listened to Severus' even breathing.

Sirius grinned as he sat in front of Severus in the small restaurant.

"Are you going to tell me why you wanted to have lunch?" asked Severus.

"I have something to tell you, but let's order first." said Sirius as he gestured to the waiter.

"Oh, come on." mumbled Severus under his breath as he picked up the menu. "You know I have to get back to work in like half an hour, right?"

"Don't worry, it won't take long. You want to try the ribs? I hear it's good?"

Severus heaved a long suffering sigh. "Sure. I like ribs." he said reluctantly.

"Two ribs." Sirius told the waiter who was waiting by their table. He watched the waiter leave before turning to his boyfriend. "First, take a look at this." he said and pulled a roll of parchment out of his pocket.

"What is it?" asked Severus as he scanned the parchment with curious eyes.

"I got registered as animagus." announced Sirius proudly.

"I don't understand." said Severus, looking up. "I thought you didn't want people to know your form. What made you change your mind?"

"Remember what you told me when you found out I was an animagus? You said I could get in any university I wanted if I registered."

"So, you want to study transfiguration? That's great! Have you talked to Minerva? She can help you pick a university."

"I already know where I'm going." started Sirius, taking Severus' hand in his own. "I'm coming to Germany with you."

Severus didn't say anything for a moment. The waiter came over and put their food on the table, giving them a weird look when he saw their intertwined hands.

"Are you just doing this for me?" said Severus finally. "I don't want you to be miserable."

"I won't be. Transfiguration is perfect for me, you know that. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do but I'm pretty sure it's going to do something with transfiguration. This could help. I'll be learning more and I'll have more time to think on a career."

"Really?" asked Severus, a smile forming on his lips.

"Really. I've looked into it, they have a great program and I've already talked to Slughorn, he'll contact Master Belby if you want. What do you say?"

"I say yes!" said Severus, with a big smile, he leaned forward for a moment as if to kiss him, but sat back and squeezed his hand instead. "We can afford it, right?"

"I think so, I still have some money from my uncle and there's the money we saved this summer."

"Doesn't matter. We'll figure it out." said Severus, squeezing his hand again. "Let's eat. I'm starving."

Notes: "natwest", one of my readers from archiveofourown, was the one who came up with the idea of Remus going to muggle univestity in the comments and also told me about the British government paying the fees until year 2000.

Here's a quot from wikipedia about this:

"In the years following the end of the Second World War, local education authorities (LEAs) paid student tuition fees and provided non-mature[clarification needed] students with a maintenance grant. Under the Education Act 1962 a national mandatory award of student maintenance grant was established, payable by the LEAs to students on most full-time courses. In 1980, the level of grant increased from £380 to £1,430."


	64. Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Favor

Summary: Slughorn asks Severus for a favor.

"So, what did you guys want to talk to me about?" asked Remus as he sat in front of them. Sirius and Severus had decided to tell to Remus about their plans right away. They hadn't figured out all the details yet but Remus was their best friend and roommate and they didn't want to keep this from him.

"You know how Master Belby asked me to work with him?" started Severus. "He's also offering to pay for my university, which means I have to move to Germany."

"So, you're doing this? You're really moving? You're going to leave everything you have here and go?" asked Remus in disbelief.

"I didn't want to, but now Sirius is coming with me." answered Severus in a small voice.

"You're both going?!" exclaimed Remus, jumping out of his seat.

"I'm going to study transfiguration, there." said Sirius. "It's a great opportunity for Severus, you know how much he wants to get his Mastery."

"You'd be gone for what? Four years? Who's to say you'll even come back after that!"

"We're not going to go for good, I promise. We'll visit and we're going to be here every full moon." said Severus. "You'd be busy with school anyway, right?"

"It looks like you've already made your decision. I don't know why you bothered telling me at all." answered Remus numbly before storming out of the room.

"That went well." said Sirius. Severus didn't answer, he was too busy studying his hands.

"I'll go talk to him." added Sirius as he stood up and made his way to Remus' bedroom.

He found Remus sitting on the rug, leaning against his bed. Sirius went inside and slid down next to him.

"I can't believe you're abandoning me like this. I know he's your boyfriend and you love him but it hasn't even been a year since you two got together. You and I have been friends since we were kids." said Remus quietly.

"I'm not abandoning you Remy. We'll come visit."

"You say that now." snapped Remus.

"I mean it. I swore to be your friend no matter what, remember?" said Sirius. "This is a once in a life time opportunity. I could study transfiguration anywhere I want, but Severus can't. Do you have any idea how expensive potion courses are? He won't get another chance like this."

"He could get an apprenticeship." retorted Remus. "He has people lining up, doesn't he?"

Sirius sighed. "Apprenticeship only covers day to day potions. He'd have to study the rest on his own and get all the equipment and ingredients to practice. That's why most potioneers don't bother with a Mastery." he explained.

Remus was quiet for a few minutes. "I guess it is a once in a life time opportunity,then." he said finally.

"That's not all. I want to get him out of the country."

"What do you mean?" asked Remus with a frown.

"I worry about him Remus. I know St. Mungo's is safe, but every time he walks out the door a part of me wonders if … he'll come back. They tried to kidnap him last year and when I thought it was over, they poisoned him. You were there, he almost died." answered Sirius with a lump in his throat.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. I had no idea. I'm the worst friend ever, aren't I? I was just thinking about myself." said Remus, blushing. They were both silent for a moment, both deep in thought.

"Maybe it'll be good for me to be on my own for a while. Severus is right. I'll be busy with studying and Lisa is here. I'll be fine." said Remus, thoughtfully.

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, you'll do fine." he said. "Do you mind telling Severus all of this before he changes his mind about going?" he added more seriously.

...

Severus picked up the huge stack of mail and started to go through it. "I have letters from everyone at Hogwarts." he said, separating the envelopes with the Hogwarts' crest. He paused as he spotted three identical envelopes.

"What are those?" asked Sirius.

"Wedding invitations." answered Severus, frowning. "Mine is from Lily. Yours are from James Potter."

"They're getting married? That's quick." murmured Remus under his breath as he pulled a sparkly piece of parchment out of one of the envelopes. "It's next weekend. Should we go?"

"I don't want to go. You guys can go together if you want." said Severus shortly.

"I'm not going if you're not." Sirius told him, then turned to Remus. "You should go with Lisa. Girls like weddings and you know everybody's going to be there."

"I guess. I'll see if Lisa wants to go." answered Remus, looking at his invitation again.

Severus' frown deepened. He had a feeling that Sirius wanted to go. He started opening his letters to get his mind off of the damn wedding. They were mostly congratulating him on getting to university and asking him to say goodbye before leaving. Horace's letter was the longest one. He had ask to have a private talk with him.

"Are you guys up to going to Hogsmeade, this Friday?" asked Severus. "I want to invite the Hogwarts staff to Three Broomsticks."

"Sounds good to me." answered Sirius.

"Yeah, it will be fun." said Remus, looking up from the blasted parchment at last.

...

Severus' face broke into a smile as he saw Horace enter the pub. The old man smiled back and gave Severus a quick hug before slumming down in his seat.

"It's good to see you, Horace." said Severus as he took a seat as well.

"You, too lad. It's not every day that you get to celebrate your students' success." answered Horace, with a proud glint in his eyes.

"It's all thanks to you, Horace. I'll never forget how much you helped me." said Severus sincerely. "And I haven't forgotten my promise, you know. I'll come help you with the brewing any time I can."

"It's better if you keep your distance from Hogwarts for now. Worst case scenario, we'll order our potions from outside, we've done it before." said Horace, waving him off. "I actually wanted to ask you another favor. You're going to have access to great means where you're going. The German School of Potioneers is one of the best schools in Europe. From what I hear, their laboratory is the state of the art and their library is far superior to Hogwarts'. There are no restrictions on knowledge, it will allow you to research anything you desire. I'm sure you have a subject or two in mind."

Severus leaned forward in his chair. "I've always wanted to do a research on the dark mark. The ritual must have come from somewhere, right? I tried to gather some information when I was in Hogwarts but I didn't find much."

"If anyone can figure it out, it's you." said Horace, confidently.

"So, what is the favor? Do you need me to do a research?" asked Severus.

"Yes." answered Horace. He took a moment as if to gather his thoughts and cast a few privacy charms around their table. "Remember what I told you about the dark Lord? That I gave him some information?"

"I remember."

"Tom asked me about horcruxes. Horcruxes are means to gain immortality and the darkest objects in this world. To make one, you need to commit murder and make a fraction in your soul, then pull out the loose piece and confide it in an object. He told me he wanted to make seven of them."

"Dear Merlin." murmured Severus. "You think there's a way to reverse it?"

"I don't know. What I can say with confidence is that there must be some information Tom doesn't have. He's always been brilliant but he's also too arrogant to consider his plans thoroughly." explained Horace. He pulled a journal out of his pocket and handed it to Severus. "This is all I know of it. I hate to burden you, Severus but you're the only one I can trust with this. The guilt is weighing heavy on me."

"Don't worry, Horace. We'll find a way to fix it." said Severus, pocketing the notebook carefully.

"One more thing … I've noticed Sirius and you have gotten very close."

Severus nodded in understanding. "I'll probably end up telling him but he doesn't need to know all the details."

"Thank you." said Horace, his features relaxing visibly. "The others are here." he added nodding to the door.

Severus stood up and ordered a round of butterbeer before going over to greet his professors. Sirius and Remus arrived soon after. They pushed a few of the tables together and sat down snuggly, soon people started to mingle. It was the most fun Severus had had in some time. He took a look at the crowd around him and came to a decision.

"Sirius?" he whispered to his boyfriend. "I think we should go to the wedding."

"What? I thought you didn't want to go."

"I don't but … all of your Gryffindor friends are going to be there. You haven't seen them since we moved in together. If we go, you'll get a chance to say goodbye." said Severus and leaned into Sirius' side.

"Are you sure?" asked Sirius, putting an arm around him. "I know you don't like any of those people."

Severus nodded against Sirius' robes. "You're moving to another country for me, I think I can tolerate your stupid friends for one night."


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65: The Gryffindor Wedding

Summary: Severus dances at a ball for the first time.

Notes: I edited chapter 63 a bit. Vadimmom pointed out that Remus needs tutoring in muggle subjects before going to medical school, so I added a couple of sentences where he mentions that.

...

Severus took a deep breath and held onto Sirius' arm as they entered the ballroom. It was the first time he was attending a formal gathering like this. He could remember going to a distant uncle's wedding as a child but it hadn't been anywhere as grand as this one.

"It's so beautiful!" said Lisa from behind them.

Severus nodded. "The red and gold decorations are a bit childish, though. Then again, it is a Gryffindor wedding. It wouldn't surprise me if Potter comes out wearing red robes."

Sirius chuckled. "If anyone could pull off something like that, it's James." he said with a smirk. "Let's find our seats." he added and tapped his wand at a piece of parchment that was placed on a small table. The parchment vibrated and the sitting plan appeared on it.

Severus frowned as he studied the parchment. Sirius' name was written on a large table along with Remus and Lisa, but his seat was on the opposite side of the room with Lily's family.

"We're not sitting together?!" asked Severus disbelievingly.

Sirius sighed. "Of course we are. We'll have someone put in an extra chair." He raised his wand again and tabbed the table the parchment was placed on this time. Severus jumped a little as a golden path appeared on the hardwood floor, guiding them to their table.

Sirius called one of the waiters next and had him add a chair to the table. The guy complied, conjuring another gold and red chair and making the table a bit larger, grumbling to himself all the while.

Soon enough everyone was seated and they were served elf made wine. An awkward silence had fallen on the table. Severus took a sip of his drink, trying hard to ignore the eyes that were studying his every move.

"You know, we used to play quidditch in here whenever we visited James." said Remus, attempting to break the silence. A few people chuckled.

"Really? That's awesome!" said a blond boy. "Maybe later we could …"

"So, you're still with him?" Anna Abbot asked Sirius, cutting off the boy.

"Yes." said Sirius firmly, taking Severus' hand. "I wouldn't let him go for the world."

"Then, why would James …"

"I don't know, Anna. You should ask him." said Sirius shortly.

"Where have you been hiding all this time?" Pettigrew blurted out.

"We haven't been hiding. We just didn't want to keep contact with people from school." Severus answered this time. He was relieved when the music started, announcing the arrival of the happy couple.

"Then where exactly …" Pettigrew tried again but the others shushed him.

A moment later, James Potter stepped into the room with Frank Lognbottom standing as his best man. Potter was wearing traditional robes, much to Severus' disappointment, and was standing proud like a peacock. Alice Longbottom and Petunia came in next as Lily's bridesmaids. Severus barely held in a snort as Lily followed escorted by Albus Dumbledore.

As the initiator started the ceremony, Severus felt Sirius squeeze his hand. He turned to look at his boyfriend and blinked as he saw the twinkle in the gray eyes. He smiled a little at the boy's excitement, even though he couldn't comprehend it.

After the bride and groom exchanged their vows, people started to stand up and move to the front of the room.

"Where is everyone going?" whispered Severus.

"They want to congratulate them." explained Sirius. "We should probably go, too." he added, turning to Remus and Lisa. With that, they stood up and made their way to where the newly-weds were standing.

"Congratulations, guys." said Sirius.

"We wish you the very best." added Lisa.

"Thank you." answered Potter, grinning from ear to ear.

"Severus!" called Lily with a bright smile as she spotted him, standing in the back. "I'm so glad that you came." she said and rushed forward to hug him. Severus stiffened but didn't pull away.

"Congratulations." he mumbled when Lily finally released him.

"You look so handsome! Come take a picture with me."

"No, that's not a good idea." protested Severus.

"It's my wedding, Sev. Please? It would mean a lot to me." said Lily. "I know you're mad at me but I really miss you. We haven't taken a picture together since fourth year and now you're going overseas."

Severus sighed and let himself be dragged forward. He stood awkwardly beside Lily, feeling Potter's eyes on him.

"Come on, grumpy. Smile." Lily whispered in his ear. Severus sighed again but managed a smile. He was about to step aside after the photographer took a couple of shots of them, but Lily held on to his hand and waved the others to come and stand next to them. After a few more photos, she finally let him go. "Thank you." she said before turning to the other guests.

Severus was about to make his escape when Lily's mother called him.

"Severus! There you are." said Mrs. Evans. "I thought you were to sit with us."

"Yes, but I wanted to sit with my friends instead." answered Severus.

"I see. It's good to see a familiar face, all the same." she said, shaking her head. "This wedding is too unorthodox for my taste. I tried to convince them to do the ceremony in a church at least, but they wouldn't budge. I don't have one guest here!"

Severus nodded sympathetically. "You should ask them to do it once more in a church, so that you can invite your relatives."

"See, mom? I told you!" said Petunia, stepping next to her mother.

"Well, it's over and done with." said Mrs. Evans. "It was good seeing you, Severus."

"Likewise." answered Severus. He turned to scan the crowd and spotted Sirius laughing with his friends. He was about to join him but thought better of it and walked over to the buffet, instead. Petunia was heading there as well.

"Petunia?" called Severus. "Can I talk to you?"

The girl stopped in her tracks and frowned. "What do you want?"

"I … I wanted to apologize. I was always mean to you when we were kids." he said sincerely.

"You were." Petunia agreed.

"I know it's no excuse, but I was really lonely back then. My parents didn't let me talk to the other kids, afraid that people were going to find out I had magic. Lily was my only friend and I wanted her all to myself." explained Severus. "Do you think you can forgive me?"

"I suppose. After all, I wasn't nice to you either, was I?" said Petunia with a huff. She picked up a couple of plates and gave one to Severus. "I was surprise to see you here. I always thought you had a thing for Lily, you know with the way you acted around her."

"I did when I was a kid."

"So, you don't anymore?" asked Petunia with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm in love with someone else." answered Severus. "You see the guy over there with curly hair? That's my boyfriend."

"Always after the pretty ones, aren't you?" teased Petunia.

Severus smiled in response and started to fill his plate. "What do you do these days, Tuney?"

"I'm going to college. I'm a second year."

"What's your major?"

"Bookkeeping." she answered, blushing. "I know it's really boring." she added apologetically.

Severus frowned. "I don't think it's boring. You know how much I like books."

Petunia snorted. "Everyone else thinks it is. Vernon thought I was having him on when I first told him."

"Who's Vernon?"

"My fiancé." said Petunia, showing him her engagement ring. "He says I should drop out."

Severus' eyebrows shot up. "Do you want to drop out?"

"I don't, but there's really no point. He doesn't want me to work when we get married. As if I could find a job." said Petunia bitterly, biting into a finger sandwich.

"Why are you so down on yourself? You used to be the most confident person I knew." asked Severus, frowning. "Of course you can find a job. And if you like your major, you shouldn't care what everyone else thinks."

"Vernon's not just anyone! He's going to marry me." snapped Petunia. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me? Lily's getting married, barely out of school and I haven't even had a real boyfriend!"

"Lily's marrying a big- headed spoiled jerk and she's going to realize it soon enough."

Petunia chuckled in spite of herself. "He is a spoiled brat, isn't he?" she said with a smirk. "I suppose Vernon isn't much better but he is a good catch."

"If this guy doesn't appreciate you, then he's not good enough to be your husband." said Severus firmly.

Petunia threw him a sidelong glance. "When did you get so mature?" she asked seriously.

Severus stared at her for a second before answering. "One day, I saw what my future would be like if I didn't change."

Petunia sighed. "I try not to do that. The thought of being married to him for the rest of my life scares me but I don't want to end up alone, either."

"I used to think like that." said Severus, looking at the bride and groom on the dance floor. "But then I realized it's better to be alone than to put your life in someone else's hand."

"Well, when you put it that way." said Petunia, watching the couples rushing to the dance floor with envy. "He didn't bother coming here with me even though he knew how upset I was. I don't even have someone to dance with."

"You could dance with me." offered Severus, extending a hand. "I should warn you, though. I just learned this morning."

Petunia shrugged, taking his hand. "You were always a quick learner." she said with a smile.

The dance wasn't a complete disaster. He almost stepped on Petunia's feet once but she didn't complain. Severus danced with Lisa next as Remus partnered with Petunia, talking her ear off with his endless questions about muggle universities.

By the time the third song started, Severus found himself dancing in Sirius' arms. "How was your first ball?" asked Sirius.

"Better than I expected." answered Severus, leaning closer. "It got me thinking. I'm really lucky that I got you."

Sirius grinned. "One day you and I …" he trailed off, blushing.

"What?"

"We'll always be together, right?" asked Sirius instead of answering his question.

"Yes." Severus promised. "Always."


	66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66: The Order of the Phoenix

Summary: Severus and Sirius go back to England.

Remus rubbed at his eyes and turned a page. He had a test tomorrow and he hadn't had time to study all day. His life had been busy for the past two years. His studies were very demanding and he spent all of his free time volunteering in St. Mungo's and working for the order, except when he was with Lisa.

He had gotten involved with the order of the phoenix at James' insistence. The boy had reached out to him a week after his and Lily's wedding and asked him to attend a couple of the meetings. Remus had been skeptical at first but after seeing the order members at work, he decided to become a member. The war was getting worst every day and he was happy to do his part. Dumbledore dropped a few hints every now and then about needing his help with the werewolf packs, but Remus had grown a thick skin after school and he didn't let himself be manipulated into doing something he didn't want to do.

He closed his book when he heard the sound of apparition and made his way to the living room. "Hey guys." he said with a tiered smile. "How was it?"

Severus and Sirius turned to him with matching grins. Severus held out his certificate.

"The youngest potion Master in Europe." read Remus. "That's huge, congratulations! I'm really sorry I missed it."

"It's alright. I know how busy you are." said Severus.

"You would have like it, though. Regulus was there and Master Belby took us all to dinner." added Sirius, slumping on the couch with a content sigh.

Severus nodded. "You wouldn't believe how much Regulus has changed. He's become taller than Sirius."

"Really?" asked Remus, then smirked. "Which one of them is better looking, now?"

"I'm not answering that." said Severus, smirking back, and pulled a wizarding picture out of his robes' pocket. "Here, see for yourself."

"That's him?! Man! He HAS changed."

"The girls were all over him." said Sirius, then frowned. "You don't think he looks better than me, do you?" he asked, turning to Severus.

Severus chuckled. "No, you both have your charms but you're definitely more handsome." he said and sat down next to his boyfriend.

Remus put the photo on the coffee table and cleared his throat. "You said in your letter that you were staying in England for the summer." he started. His friends both nodded. "I think it's time you attended one of the order meetings. I know you don't like the idea of working with Dumbledore but there's much more to it than that."

"Do we need to make some kind of commitment?" asked Severus after a few minutes of silence.

"No, nothing like that and you can be as involved as you want. There's a meeting tomorrow night. I can let the others know you'll be there."

Sirius shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. What do you say, Sev?"

"Yeah. We'll give it a try."

...

The headquarters seemed a bit too cozy for the serious work the order was supposedly doing. Severus looked around the crowded living room curiously. He recognized a few Aurors and ministry officials. He braced himself when his eyes met a pair of vibrant green ones. He had only seen Lily once since her wedding, at the Potters funeral a few months ago, but they hadn't really gotten a chance to talk.

"Severus, Sirius! It's so good to see you." said the red head, moving forward carefully.

"Lily." said Severus.

"Wow, you look big. How far a long are you, eight months?" asked Sirius.

"Almost." answered Lily, rubbing at her huge belly. "They say it's a boy. We're going to name him Harry."

"That's a nice name." said Severus.

"He's kicking again. Do you want to fell it?"

"Uh ...Yeah, sure." said Severus awkwardly.

Lily took his hand and placed it on the right side of her stomach. Severus looked up as he felt something push against him. "Does it hurt?" he asked hesitantly.

Lily shook his head. "It's uncomfortable but it doesn't hurt."

"Of course it doesn't. That's just my son practicing his chaser moves." said James Potter, joining them. Severus pulled his hand back at the annoyed look the man gave him.

"How are you holding up, James?" asked Sirius.

"As good as could be expected. I'm grateful I still have Lily and my son." answered Potter, his face turning grim.

"Honey, Dumbledore has arrived." said Lily, distractedly. "We should go to the dining room, the meeting is about to start."

With that they all moved to the next room, where a large table was placed. Severus sat stiffly between Sirius and Remus and did his best to ignore the order members who were openly gazing at him. It felt like hours have past until Dumbledore finally took his place at the head of the table and started the meeting, giving a speech about troubled times and the importance of the work they did in the order. The man paused in his rambling for a moment and gave Severus an apprising look before turning to the others once more.

"I'm sure you've all noticed that we have a couple of new faces with us today." said Dumbledore. "Mr. Snape here has just received his Mastery in potions."

"A Mastery? What are you boy, like twenty?" asked Alastor Moody.

"He is. Which makes him the youngest potion Master in Europe." announced Sirius proudly, causing a whisper to break around the room.

"Yes, that is quite an accomplishment." said Dumbledore. "I understand you haven't been in England for some time. Now that you're back, my boy, you need to do what you can for the good of the wizarding world."

"I agree with you, Professor. That's why I've decided to take on some research while I'm here."

"Research?" asked Dumbledore, raising his white eyebrows. "That's fine for the time of peace, but we're at war right now. We need soldiers."

"You're underestimating the power of knowledge, Headmaster." answered Severus firmly. "I was working with Master Belby on the wolfsbane potion for the last two years. It allows werewolves to control their urges and lead a normal life. It's a NEWT level potion, which makes it much easier to brew. This alone can deter the odds in this war. If werewolves are allowed to function like other magical beings, they could be convinced to side with us or at least remain mutual throughout the war."

"And now that your research is done, Mr. Snape? What do you plan to do, now?" asked Dumbledore, ignoring the commotion that broke out through the table at Severus' words.

"It's Master Snape, Professor. And to answer your question, I'm going to start a research in St. Mungo's."

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, my boy, but from what I know the hospital's research budget has been eliminated due to the war."

"I am aware. I had a meeting with the head of the research department this morning. However, I believe I can persuade the ministry to fund my project." answered Severus without missing a bit. "I want to work on torture victims and curing the long term effects of spells like crucio."

"Somebody should!" said Moody heartedly. "We've lost too many people in the past year. Half the patients in the mental ward of St. Mungo's are there because of that blasted curse!"

"It's true." added Alice Longbottom. "You won't believe how horrible it is until you see it for yourself."

"My dad got hit by crucio so many times he couldn't count. He might have survived the dragon box if he wasn't so weak. If there's a way to heal the after effects we should make it a priority." said James Potter, looking older than he was.

"There simply hasn't been a need for research in the past and right now with the number of patients occupying the hospital beds, the long term affects are ignored. With the right funding, I think there's good chance we can heal most of the symptoms." explained Severus.

"Yes, of course. We'll do what we can." murmured Dumbledore. "And you Sirius? What help can you offer?"

"I'll do what I can, Professor." said Sirius.

"One of our main goals in the order is to cover as many bases as we are able to. We have people in the ministry, Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Right now, we need more reliable people in the school to protect the children." started Dumbledore. "We are currently in need of a defense against the dark arts teacher. It would be a great help if you accept the position."

"I ... I don't know, sir." answered Sirius. "Everyone knows the position is cursed and I don't have any experience with teaching or defensive magic."

"The curse is just a rumor." said Dumbledore dismissively. "And you may not have experience but you're trustworthy. It would be a relief to have someone like you on the staff."

"If this is only about having him in the castle, perhaps he could become Minerva's apprentice. Sirius still has to finish his Mastery and I'm sure the Deputy Headmistress could use the help."

"That's a wonderful idea, Severus! Merlin knows I have a lot on my plate and I haven't had an apprentice in ages." said Minerva from the other side of the table. "What do you say Mr. Black?"

"It is a great idea. I'm sure I can learn a lot from you, Professor." said Sirius with a grin.

The meeting went on for another hour. Dumbledore didn't address the two of them again, but he glanced in Severus' direction every few minutes as if to see his reaction to the issues that were discussed.

"I should have known." Remus whispered to him when the meeting was finally over. "You accepted to come too quickly."

Severus didn't bother denying it. He had used the opportunity to fund his research and had secured an apprenticeship for Sirius. "Are you mad at me?"

Remus sighed. "No, not really. If anything I appreciate what you said about werewolves. Who knows, maybe one day I can find a real job."

"Speaking of which. I'm going to need an assistant."

"You want me?" asked Remus disbelievingly.

"Yes, if you have the time. And now that I have a Mastery, I can even take you on as an apprentice. You should think about it and …"

"I'll do it. I'm at St. Mungo's almost every day and I'd love to be your apprentice." said Remus and pulled him in a hug. "Thank you, Severus. I can't wait to tell Lisa."


	67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Dragon Pox

Summary: Andrew comes to Severus with a request.

Severus was sitting cross legged on the floor with his eyes closed, trying to get in touch with his inner animal. He saw himself as a panther, running in the meadow. He could almost feel his muscles flex as his legs moved, and the sunlight warm on his back. Almost.

"No luck?" asked Sirius, from the doorway.

Severus sighed and got off the floor. "How you and your friends managed this at fifteen, I'll never know."

"We were at it twenty four seven, specially over the summer. You always have too much on your plate." said Sirius and gave him a kiss. "You'll get there."

"That's the problem! I feel like I'm already there but whenever I reach out, it fades away. I know it's crazy but I feel like my magic is holding me back. It's been like this since Christmas. I swear! My Christmases are cursed."

"What do you mean?"

"I found out my mother had left on Christmas, the year after that my dad died and now this!" said Severus, marching out of the room and down the stairs.

Sirius followed him to the kitchen. "Not all of them were bad. We got together over Christmas." he pointed out.

"We did." agreed Severus, then frowned. "Wasn't that the year Hogsmeade was under attack?"

Sirius chuckled. "Yeah. I guess it was."

"It's not funny, Sirius!" snapped Severus. "I'm telling you something's wrong with my magic."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just … Why don't you go see a healer?"

"I have. Andrew did a checkup, last week. He said everything's normal and my core is working properly" said Severus, pouring them both some coffee. "And it's not like my magic isn't working, it just feels limited as if it doesn't want to expand anymore."

"Maybe you're just tiered. You work too hard."

"Maybe." murmured Severus and started drawing patterns with his fingers on the table's surface. They sipped their coffee in silence for a few minutes.

"Are you sure it started this Christmas?" asked Sirius.

"I think so." answered Severus, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't notice anything was wrong until last month. But I think it started then."

"You know, your birthday is right after Christmas. Maybe it has something to do with you turning twenty."

"That's possible. Is twenty somehow significant?" asked Severus.

"I don't know. I'll check the Hogwarts library." said Sirius reassuringly. "But you do work too hard, Sev."

"It will get better. Remus is taking his last exam today and he's going to be in the hospital full time until September." explained Severus. "It's getting late, you should go."

"Right. See you tonight, love." said Sirius, giving him another kiss before flooing to Hogwarts.

Severus sat the table for a few more minutes before going to work. He went straight to his lab. Brewing always made him calm. He had been trying to come up with a formula to repair nerve damage. He had started with the basics; improving the existing potions and adjusting them to the crucio after effects. It had worked to an extent but it still wasn't enough. This time he was brewing from scratch. He started with five different bases, and then narrowed them down to three. He made two potions with each base and ended up with six mixtures. It took him till the afternoon to test those, which resulted in four acceptable brews. It was then that Remus showed up.

"Hey, Severus." greeted the boy with a warm smile. "I heard you hadn't come out of here all day, so I got you some lunch."

"Thanks." said Severus. He washed his hands and took off his apron. "How was your exam?"

"It was good. I'm going to pass for sure." answered Remus and looked around the lab. "You're still working on nerve damage, right?"

"Yeah, I've got four new brews to try. I've already tested them. … Hmm, this is good." said Severus as he took a bite of his turkey sandwich. "Do you want some?"

"No, I'm full. I had lunch with Lisa."

"Did you guys have a nice weekend?" asked Severus, taking a swing of his pumpkin juice.

"Yeah. I was studying for the most part, but we had a great time. The cabin is beautiful. You and Sirius should come next time." said Remus with a grin. "So, I'm all yours. What do you need me to do?"

"I'm going to need help with brewing. We'll prepare enough potion for a week-long trial." explained Severus. He accioed the patients' files and put it in front of Remus. "You'll be responsible for that. And I'm going to start on mental damage."

"Really? That's great!"

"The healers check the patients' vitals every few hours, but you're the one who has to monitor their progress." said Severus. He vanished the remains of his lunch and stood up. "Let's get to work."

…

Severus sighed in satisfaction as he started bottling the last batch. He couldn't wait to go home and see Sirius. He frowned when he heard the rushed footsteps outside the door. A moment later Andrew came in. He looked pale and he had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was messy and he was wearing wrinkled robes.

"Andrew? Are you alright?" asked Severus in concern. Andrew didn't answered, he grabbed Severus' arm and dragged him to the small office, next to the lab.

"It's Lucius." said the healer, after lucking the door and putting on a silencing charm. "His son has caught dragon pox."

"Lucius's son?" asked Severus dumbfoundedly.

"Abraxas died of dragon pox last month, now the kid has it." said Andrew, pacing in the small space. "I've done everything I could but nothing's working! If anything I think I've made it worse. The child's only five weeks old and he's dying."

"I'm sorry." whispered Severus, not knowing what else to say.

"You have to help him, Sev. I know Lucius is a Death Eater, but you owe him."

"What do you expect me to do? I'm not a healer."

"No, but you're the best potion Master in England. The potion is not designed for a child this small. You can fix it, I know you can."

"Alright, I'll … I'll do what I can."

"Great, Let's go." said Andrew, taking a tea cup out of his pocket.

"Go where?"

"The Manor." answered Andrew matter of fact.

"Have you lost your mind?! If Lucius wants my help, he can come here."

"He won't! The stupid bastard doesn't listen to me! He's paranoid. He thinks someone's trying to kill his son. You have to come with me, now. If you talk to anyone or do anything before you come he won't let you near the boy. Please, Severus! I'm desperate. The child is dying and it's all my fault."

Severus hesitated for a moment. He knew Andrew and Lucius, they had been there for him at school. He knew he could trust them and yet …

Severus took hold of Andrew's chin and raised his wand. "Legilimens." he whispered. He stood on the edge for a moment, but pushed in gently when he felt no resistance. He saw Andrew bending over a crib, casting a reviving spell on a tiny baby covered in boils. Narcissa was kneeling by the crib, crying and Lucius stood in a corner, staring at the scene in defeat.

"Severus?" asked Andrew.

"I'm coming. But I need to write a note for Sirius first."

…

Sirius took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. "What do you mean he's gone?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"He went to the office with Andrew. I was cleaning up and then I finished bottling the potions, when he didn't come back. I went after him when I was done, but no one was there." explained Remus. "I found this on the desk. I didn't open it, but I casted a few detecting charms on it and didn't find anything."

Sirius took the envelope. His name was written there in Severus' handwriting. "Did you ask around? Has anyone seen him leave?"

"No, no one saw anything." answered Remus, solemnly.

Sirius opened the envelope with shaking hands. There was a short note inside.

'I have to go visit a patient in their home. I don't know how long it will take, but I'll be back as soon as I can.

I'm sorry for leaving like this. Please don't worry.

Severus.'

Sirius stared at the note. The handwriting was definitely Severus' but he was sure there were ways to forge that. The massage didn't contain any personal information what so ever, anyone could have written this. At the verge of breaking down, Sirius looked at the envelope again. Suddenly, he realized there was something else inside. His heart skipped a bit as he took out the silver item. The picture of the ship was unmistakable, this was Severus' lighter.


	68. Chapter 68

Chapter 68: The Potion

Summary: Severus works on the dragon pox potion.

Severus felt a pull behind his navel and suddenly he was standing in an elegant drawing room. He scanned the room with his eyes, stopping as they landed on Lucius. The man was standing stiffly and had his wand pointed to Severus' chest.

"Lower your wand, Lucius." said Andrew.

"I don't take orders in my own home!" snapped Lucius.

"Like you said, he came here directly. He didn't talk to anyone or made contact with anyone."

"Then why were you were gone for five minutes?"

"I left a note for my boyfriend." it was Severus who answered this time.

"A note." spat Lucius, angrily.

"I checked it, Lucius. There was nothing about you or your family on it and he just left it on the desk." said Andrew, impatiently. "Please let him do his job. You're wasting time."

"Not so fast." said the blond, turning to Severus. "You're going to swear on your magic that you're going to help my son and that you wouldn't harm him, before I let you anywhere near him." he ordered.

Severus stared at his old friend for a moment before answering. "What I'll swear is to do all I can and don't attempt to bring him any harm, but first you have to swear to let me leave in one piece when I'm done."

"You! You dare …"

"We both know I'm taking a risk, standing in this room. It's obvious you don't trust me and I don't have much reason to trust you, either. So, what's it going to be?"

Lucius pursed his lips in displeasure, his eyes darted to Andrew before settling on him again. "I swear on my magic to let you go back safely to your home when you've done all you can for my son, Draco and I swear to torture you to death in front of your blood traitor boyfriend if you try to harm Draco in any way."

Severus felt his wand hand twitch involuntary at the mention of Sirius. He shoved his anger back, reminding himself that an innocent life was on the line. "I swear on my magic to do everything in my power to help your son and do not attempt to harm him."

"Very well." said Lucius. He pocketed his wand and led the way to the nursery.

The room was in the same position as he had seen in Andrew's memory and Narcissa was still sitting by the crib, whispering sweet nonsense to her child.

Severus knelt at the other side of the crib and started examining his patient. His skin was green, which was normal for dragon pox. But the boils seemed severe, he had difficulty breathing and was running a fever. "Andrew?" he called. "What have you given him so far?"

"Just the dragon pox potion and a mild pain killer." Andrew answered, stepping closer.

Severus nodded, deep in thought. "I'm not sure how long it would take for me to alter the potion. We need to keep the symptoms under control in the meantime. Do a complete checkup on him." he told Andrew before turning to Lucius. "I need the dragon pox potion recipe and …"

"You need the recipe?" sneered Lucius. "I thought you were supposed to be the best potion Master in Britain."

"I also need parchment, quill and ink." continued Severus, ignoring the man's comment.

Lucius summoned a house elf and the next moment a desk appeared in the room with a stationery set and a thick book on top, opened to the proper page. Severus sat down and studied the recipe before writing down a list of ingredients. "I'm going to make a potion that will help with his fever and breathing and a salve for his boils."

"We already have those." said Narcissa, joining them.

"The regular remedies won't mix well with the potion he's taken. What I'm going to make is more basic. They take longer to brew and they're not as strong but it'll get the job done, until the main potion is ready." he explained, then gave the list to Lucius and started taking notes.

"You can fix the potion?" asked Narcissa, her voice filled with hope.

"I have a few ideas." said Severus. "I've done things like this before. I'm going to give it my best shot." he added reassuringly, before turning his attention to his work.

Twenty minutes later, he was standing in the Malfoy Manor's lab, preparing the ingredients. In any other occasion, he would have taken some time to admire the ancient room and the modern equipment, but he was too preoccupied to get excited about his surroundings. He put his notes on dragon pox potion next to the work station as he put on a couple of cauldron and started brewing. He edited his notes whenever he had a free moment and was able to narrow down the list of ingredients he would need by the time the brewing was done.

"Dobby." called Severus as he was instructed.

The house elf appeared instantly. "What is Master potions Master wanting from Dobby?" he asked.

"Give the potion and salve to Andrew." said Severus, pointing to the vials, then picked up a few pieces of parchment. "This, is the instruction on the potions, you should give it to Andrew as well. The other two are lists for your Master. One of them is a list of ingredients I'll be needing and the other a list of books."

The house elf nodded and flicked his fingers, making the items disappear before leaving. Severus jumped a little as the creature reappeared and put a tray of food and a few books in front of him.

Severus put the tray aside and started looking through the books. He looked up when he realized the house elf was still standing there. "What is it?" he asked a little annoyed.

"Mistress is wanting Dobby to make sure potion Master eats his dinner." answered Dobby. "Dobby makes sure you is eating before he can leave."

Severus raised an eyebrow and watched the elf wiggling his hands nervously. He sighed and pulled the tray forward, taking pity on the odd creature. As Severus started to eat the roasted chicken, he realized how hungry he actually was. "Happy?" he asked after he had cleaned his plate.

The elf checked the tray with a critical eye. "Master did not eat his pudding."

"You was to make sure I ate my dinner. Your Mistress didn't say anything about dessert." said Severus, getting back to the books. "Now, run along. I can't work with you here, staring at me."

...

Severus smiled to himself as he lowered the heat under the cauldron. He had tried a dozen concoctions throughout the night and he had finally managed to stabilize the potion.

"I take it, by the goofy look on your face, that you have finally managed to make an acceptable potion?" asked Lucius, startling him.

"I can't say until I test it." answered Severus, running a hand through his hair. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I just came in. Dobby informed me that you've made a breakthrough." said Lucius, giving him a once over. "Sit down before you faint." he ordered.

Severus narrowed his eyes but took a seat and poured himself some coffee. "How is the boy?" he asked.

"His name is Draco." snapped Lucius. "He's doing better."

"Good." said Severus and took a sip of his drink, burning his tongue. The older man made a face, but didn't say anything. They sat in awkward silence for a while, the bubbling potion the only thing making a sound.

"Why?" Lucius blurted out.

"Why what?"

"Why did you turn your back on us? After all the things I did for you. What went on in that head of yours that made you throw it all away? "

Severus looked down, rubbing at his forehead. His head hurt from the lack of sleep. "You're right. You did things for me no one else has ever done. You had my back and helped me in any way you could." he admitted. "In the end I chose to do what was best for me. I chose to protect myself."

"To protect yourself? From what?"

"What difference does it make?" asked Severus and stood up. It was time to test the potion.

"Just tell me. You owe me that much." said Lucius through greeted teeth.

Severus didn't answer for a moment. He lined up five testing dishes and pour a little potion in each one. "Near the end of my fifth year, there was … an incident. I was hurt badly, hanging between life and death and I … I had a dream." he started and moved on to casting the evaluation spells on the potion samples. "At first, I was standing in front of the dark Lord. He didn't look anything like I've imagined he would, he had red eyes and face like a snake, but I knew it was him. He told me that I was a good and fateful servant and very valuable but he needed me dead. He threw a cage on my head with a large snake inside and the snake tore at my neck and shoulders with its teeth. I could feel the poison burning inside me and blood was pouring out of my body and … he just left me to bleed out." Severus paused, composing himself. "After that, I saw myself at Hogwarts. I was teaching a class and I felt the dark mark burn. I couldn't answer the call and the burning got worse by the minute. All I wanted to do was grab my arm and scream, but I couldn't. Next, I saw myself getting tortured. It went on and on … It felt like my bones were melting and this time I screamed until I was hoarse."

"That's … quite a dream." commented Lucius with a dumbfounded look on his face, rubbing at his left forearm absentmindedly.

"I don't expect you to believe me." said Severus and checked the samples carefully. "The potion works, but it's not as strong as I like it to be. We'll give him a dose right now and I'll keep working on it." he added and started going through his notes.

...

It took Severus until the late afternoon to make a potion he was happy with. After that, he went straight to the guest room the Malfoys had prepared for him to get some sleep. He woke up at the crack of dawn, like he always did and decided to go check on his patient in the nursery.

Narcissa was sleeping in the rocking chair, but Draco was wide awake, staring at him with shiny silver eyes. Severus noted that the boy's coloring was better and he was breathing without difficulty.

"You're a little champ, you know that?" he said and put a hand on the boy's forehead to check his temperature.

Draco caught one of his finger in his little fist and kept staring at him until his eye lids grew heavy and he fell asleep.

"How is he?" asked Lucius from the doorway.

"He's doing better. His fever's gone." answered Severus. He frowned, wandering if the creepy house elf was still watching his every move.

"Hmmm…" hummed Lucius and stepped closer. He repeated the gesture Severus had done a few minutes ago and checked his son's temperature.

Severus pulled his figure gently out of the boy's grip and turned to leave, but the door closed shut before he could get out of the room.

"Hold on a minute. We need to talk." Lucius told him, then went over to his wife. "Darling, wake up. Draco's better."

"He is?" asked Narcissa groggily and rushed over to the crib. "He looks better." she said with tears in her eyes.

"Why don't you go to bed? I'll stay and send for you as soon as he wakes up"

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise." said Lucius. He kissed Narcissa and guided her out the door.

Severus stood there awkwardly and watched them leave. He wandered what Sirius was doing right now. Had he gone to Hogwarts or was he staying home, too worried to do anything?

He came out of his musings, when the door opened again and Lucius walked in. He checked on Draco, before waving his wand and conjuring a small table with two chairs in the corner. "Sit down." he ordered and took a seat himself.

Severus complied.

"What you told me yesterday, it sounds too real to be a dream." stated Lucius. He held up a hand, when Severus made to protest. "I'm not saying you're lying. I'm telling you what you experienced was not a dream."

"What do you think it was, then?"

"A vision." said Lucius, firmly. "There are people in your family that have the gift of sight."

"I'm not a seer. I can't predict the future or anything like that. It only happened one time."

"You have not come in contact with your family magic, that's why you don't have access to your gift. It happened that one time because you were, like you said, between life and death." explained Lucius. "And you're right, it's nothing like being a seer. Seers make prophesies and predict the future, it's not the same as having visions."

Severus frowned as he thought on that. "Perhaps you're right. It know it was more than a dream and I think it was scenes from my future."

"You need to get in touch with your family magic." said Lucius, matter of fact.

Severus shook his head. "The Prince family doesn't accept me. I can't even get past their wards, because I'm a half blood. And after everything they've put my mother through, I have no desire to 'get in touch' with any of them."

Lucius snorted. "You're still the stubborn little shit you used to be, aren't you? You'd rather hold on to your grudge than claim the power that's rightfully yours?"

"Don't …" Severus stopped himself when he realized he was raising his voice. "Are we done here?" he asked, trying to keep his temper under control.

Lucius studied him for a second. "I heard you were looking for your mother. You must know she's at the Manor. Don't you want to go see her?"

"I would have already done that if I could. Why do you care so much anyway?" said Severus curiously.

"For one thing, you risked coming here to save my son."

"And? The real reason?"

"We are all responsible for protecting magic. They say Prince Lords are the ones with the gift of sight and there hasn't been a true Prince Lord in a long time."

"I don't care about any of that."

"Do you care about seeing your mother?" asked Lucius with a raised eyebrow. "If you really are Lord Prince, the wards will let you in and your relatives wouldn't have the power to stop you from getting to her."

"I …" whispered Severus. His heart was beating fast and he felt a little light headed. He hadn't seen his mother in five years and he ached to be with her. "I'm going to make a salve for Draco, to make sure the boils don't leave scars." he said when he found his voice, then stood on shaking legs and made his way to the lab.


	69. Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Together

Summary: Severus comes back and tells Sirius what has happened.

"Sirius Black! Are you even listening to me?!" snapped a pissed off McGonagall.

"What ...?" asked Sirius lamely.

McGonagall pressed her lips together in displeasure. "I'm not going to waste any more of my time on training you, if you're not willing to take this apprenticeship seriously and apply yourself."

"What? No, Professor, I mean, yes. I take it very seriously." said Sirius, hurriedly. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little worried."

"What could possibly have you so worried? You haven't been paying attention to me for the last three days. Don't think I haven't noticed."

"It's Severus. He's with a patient and I don't know exactly where ..." Sirius started to explain but stopped in his trackers when the door burst open.

Severus walked in. He looked out of breath, as if he had been running, and his cheeks where flushed.

"Severus! What in the world ..." started McGonagall, but none of them paid attention to her. Sirius was on his feet in an instant and threw himself in his boyfriend's arms, relief washing over him in waves.

"I'm sorry." said Severus and held him tightly.

"I was so worried."

"I know, love. I'm sorry."

"I love you." said Sirius and kiss Severus, putting all his emotions in the kiss.

"I'm ... going for a walk." announced McGonagall to no one in particular and then left them in her office.

"Where were you? Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" asked Sirius when the kiss finally ended.

Severus sighed. "Let's sit down." he said. Sirius sat down with a frown. Severus dragged another chair closer and lower himself onto it with another sigh. "I was at Malfoy Manor." he said finally.

"You what?!" snapped Sirius, balling his hands into fists. "They kidnapped you?! I'm going to kill that bastard. What happened? What did they want? How did you get away?" he rambled on, his mind going into places he hadn't let it go for the last few days.

"Calm down, Sirius. They didn't kidnap me. I went willingly."

"What? What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Please calm down. Let me explain." said Severus pleadingly.

Sirius glared at him for a second, before giving in. "Fine. Just tell me what happened."

"Lucius has a son. He's six weeks old." started Severus. "The boy had caught dragon pox, from his grandfather most likely who died recently."

"So, that was your patient? Malfoy's son?" asked Sirius, trying to make sense of the situation.

Severus nodded. "His condition was fatal. The potion wasn't working on him because of his age. I had to alter it. I was the only one who could save him."

"So, you would risk your life to save a Death Eater's kid?"

"Sirius! It was a baby. An innocent baby. Why does it matter whose child it was?"

"It matters when you go to that person's house alone! It's a miracle you came out alive."

"I wasn't alone. Andrew was there. He's the one who asked for my help. He let me look into his mind and see how sick the kid was."

"Andrew? ..." asked Sirius and closed his eyes for a second. As brilliant as Severus was, he could be fucking clueless sometimes. "That's it! We're going back to Germany." he said in as calm a voice as he could manage.

"Sirius, you're being unreasonable. You know we can't afford ..."

"I don't give a shit if we can afford it! We'll live on the street if we have to." snapped Sirius. "You promised to be careful if we came back and then you do this! We're leaving today. You hear me?" he went on, getting more worked up by the minute.

Severus glared at him for few seconds, his black eyes flashing with anger. "You do what you want. I'm going to work." he said in a deadly quiet voice, then turned on his heels and stormed out, his robes bellowing behind him.

...

It took some time for Sirius to calm down. He took out most of his rage and frustration on McGonagall's furniture and then busied himself with cleaning up the mess and fixing the damage. He knew he shouldn't have snapped at Severus like that, but as much as hated to admit it to himself, he was scared. The thought of losing Severus was unbearable and he hated feeling helpless like this.

"Good. You cleaned up." said McGonagall as she entered the room. "I heard you throwing things from the corridor, thought I'd better give you some time to cool down."

"I'm sorry, Professor."

"You didn't hit Severus, did you?" asked the woman sharply.

"No! I'd never hurt him." answered Sirius. "I just … I snapped at him. He did something dangerous and I was angry."

"I see." said McGonagall, her features softening. "Severus isn't really the type to do things in the heat of the moment, you know. Perhaps he had a reason."

Sirius sighed. "Yeah. He saved someone's life, but he went somewhere he wasn't safe at all. They could have handed him over to the Death Eaters. It scared the shit out of me when he told me." he said and started pacing.

The Professor gave him a look at his choice of word, before sitting behind her desk. "The bottom line is that Severus is an adult. You can't stop him from doing his duty. I know it's scary, but we're at war."

"I can't just let him do whatever he wants! I'm his lover. I'm supposed to protect him."

"That boy is too stubborn and determined to be held back. Even if you convince him to do as you say, he'd never be happy with you like that."

"What should I do, then?" asked Sirius. He was at a loss. He didn't want Severus to be unhappy.

"Go talk to him." said McGonagall, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Just try to control your temper and don't boss him around."

...

Sirius stood outside the threshold and knocked at the open door. Severus looked up for a moment to glare at him before getting back to his potion. Sirius sighed and stepped inside.

"What do you want? I have work to do." said Severus impatiently.

"I came here to apologize. I know I can't tell you what to do. I was angry … and scared."

"You know we can't go back now, Sirius. It's not just about money and where we'd live. We've made commitment to people here and I've taken Remus on as my apprentice. I can't just leave, he'd never get a chance like this and you know how much he wants it."

"I didn't really think about that." admitted Sirius. "I just want you to be safe."

"I know." said Severus, smiling at him. "I didn't mean to scare you like this, but it was something I had to do."

The smile made Sirius' insides melt. "You're too soft-hearted for your own good." he said and leaned forward to kiss him. "How's the kid?"

"He lost some weight and he's a little weak but he'll recover."

"Did they hurt you?" asked Sirius.

Severus shook his head. "No. Lucius was a bit hustle at first but calmed out when he was sure I wouldn't hurt Draco."

"They named the kid Draco? And I thought Sirius was a stupid name." said Sirius, shaking his head. "Who else was there?"

"No one, just Lucius, Narcissa, Andrew and a house elf." answered Severus. He looked into distance for a second, his expression turning sober. "Lucius told me something."

"What?" asked Sirius, with a frown.

"Remember when I told you that I wanted to become a Death Eater but changed my mind because of a dream?"

"I remember. You didn't tell me what the dream was exactly about, though."

"In the dream I saw what my future would be like if I took the mark." said Severus. He stepped away from his cauldron and sat down on a stool. "I knew back then that it was more than a dream, it was too real. Lucius thinks it was a vision."

"A vision? As in what someone with sight would see?" asked Sirius, he blinked as he remembered something. "The Prince family is known for that."

"That's what Lucius said. He thinks I might be Lord Prince. That's crazy, right?"

Sirius' eyebrows shut up. He stared at Severus, as if seeing him for the first time.

"Sirius?"

"You're twenty. That's the age the Lordship is traditionally passed on."

"But … that doesn't prove anything."

"Your magic has become limited because you haven't claimed your Lordship. You need to get in touch with your family magic."

"You talk just like Lucius!" snapped Severus. "This family magic is poison. It almost killed my mother. I don't want to have anything to do with those people."

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." said Sirius, having learned his lesson. "But you're going to have to deal with your magic being limited for the rest of your life if you don't do this."

Severus didn't say anything. He put his head in his hands, his posture the picture of misery.

Sirius sat next to him and put an arm around the boy's shoulders. "I know it's hard, Sev. I know what a burden this whole family business is. But we're going to get through this together, alright? Whatever you decide."

"I just want to see my mom. I miss her so much." whispered Severus, he took a deep breath before raising his head, a determined look on his face. "Lucius said the wards would let me in, even though I'm half blood. Is that true?"

"I think so."

"Will you come with me?"

"Of course I will." said Sirius. "But maybe you should take some time to think this through."

"There's no point in putting it off. Let's get this over with."


	70. Chapter 70

Chapter 70: The Prince Manor

Summary: Severus steps into Prince Manor for the first time.

Sirius apparated with Severus to a secluded area, south of the new forest. He had come here as child to visit the small wizarding village close by. The Prince Manor was supposedly located somewhere deeper in the forest. The wards were considered to be as old as magic itself and they made the house difficult to locate to keep it safe from intruders. Since they didn't have an invitation, their best option was to walk around and hope to find the Manor.

They walked hand in hand for about half an hour without any luck, until Severus suddenly stopped.

"Severus?" asked Sirius. "What is it?"

"I can feel it." answered Severus. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. "It's this way." he added and let go of Sirius' hand as he changed directions.

"Wait up." said Sirius and started taking longer strides to keep up with his boyfriend.

It looked like Severus was in some kind of a trace. He moved between the trees with grace and ease, as if he's been there before. Sirius almost bumped into him when he stopped abruptly at the edge of a clearing.

"Can you see it?" said Severus.

Sirius looked around. All he saw was a meadow and a small lake. He also spotted a couple of wild ponies next to the water. "See what?" he asked.

"The Manor! It's right there up the hill."

"I can't really …" Sirius trailed off. Little by little the Manor presented itself to him. It was made of gray stones and had a warm feel to it. "It's beautiful." he breathed.

Severus started walking again. Soon he broke into a run. The meadow seemed to come to life in the boy's presence. The air cleared and the flowers started to bloom. Suddenly, there was a magnificent creature running in Severus' place, his black fur shining in the sunset. Sirius stopped in his tracks at the sight for a second, before turning into Padfoot and running after him. Severus stopped short of the entrance. He changed to his human form and waited for Sirius to join him. They went inside together as the ancient door opened at Severus' touch.

"Where to?" asked Severus, panting.

"Dining room I suppose. It's dinner time." said Sirius and sharpened his ears. "I can hear them, it's that way." he added, pointing to the corridor on the right.

They walked down corridor, following the sounds, and they reached the dinning room at last. There were more than twenty people around the table, talking and laughing among themselves. Severus scanned the room with his eyes. "Where is she?" he whispered before stepping inside.

The moment his feet crossed the threshold, the torches came to life, castings a warm glow to the room, which had previous been lit with candles. The conversation died down at once. An old man stood up, staring at Severus with sharp black eyes. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm Severus, Eileen's son. Where is she?" said Severus firmly.

Nobody said anything. You could hear a pin drop.

"I know she's here. Take me to her, now!" Severus tried again, shaking with anger.

That was apparently the right thing to say. A house elf appeared in front of them, bowing low. "Tilda will guide Master to his mother." she squeaked and exited the room. Severus and Sirius followed her. It took a long time to reach their destination. It looked like the elf was lengthening their path on purpose.

When the elf finally stopped in front of a room, the other occupants of the house where already standing there, waiting for them.

"Mistress is in her room. Tilda is not allowed inside." said the house elf, bowing.

Severus tried the door handle with a huff, before turning to his relatives. "It's locked." he spat, furiously. "How dare you lock her in?"

"The door is locked from the inside, young man." said one of the women. "Eileen doesn't like to come out of her room often."

Severus glared at her before turning to the door. "Mom!" he called. "It's me, Severus. Please let me in."

A crashing noise came from inside the room.

"Mom? Are you Ok?" asked Severus in a panicked voice. "Open the door. I just want to see you."

The door opened wide to reveal a grim looking woman sitting at a small table, griping her wand. There was a food tray in front of her and there was broken glass on the carpet where she had dropped her goblet. "Severus? Is that really you?" she asked with a desperate tone to her voice. She stood up on shaky legs and put a hand on the wall to support herself. Severus rushed forward and pulled her in a hug.

"Look how much you've grown." said Eileen in awe. "Such a handsome man." she added, putting her palm on her son's cheek

Severus hugged her tighter and buried his head on her shoulder. Sirius could tell he was crying.

"Perhaps we should give them some privacy." said the old man, looking pointedly at him, before turning on his heels and disappearing down the corridor. The others followed him. Sirius stood there awkwardly for a second before going after them.

"I believe introductions are in order." said the man when everyone was seated in the spacious drawing room. "I am Septimius Prince, the head of this household. And these are my children." he continued, pointing to the people sitting around the room. "My eldest Alan and his wife Kori. My second child Kathleen and her husband Patrick. My third child Noreen and her husband Joseph. You've already met my youngest Eileen. And the rest are my grandchildren."

"I'm Sirius Orion Black."

"Ah, the estranged son of Orion and Walburga Black." said Septimius, nodding his head. "And you are young Severus' … friend?"

"I'm his boyfriend." said Sirius, a little defensively.

"Then perhaps you should show him some manners, seeing as you're supposedly from a Noble house." snapped Kathleen. "Who barges in someone else's home, unannounced and at dinner time no less?"

"What did you expect?" Sirius shot back. "You kept him from his mother. You wouldn't even let him write to her."

"He's a half-blood!" said Kathleen as if it was the most obvious explanation.

Sirius sneered at her. "Yes, he is. And he's also your Lord."

"He's not a Lord yet but he will be." said Septimius and turned to his children. "And you all better learn to keep your tongue. Magic has chosen him. Tainted blood or not, his magic is pure. We should be grateful that he's coming to us young and healthy."

"Yes, father." said Kathleen and the others echoed her words and nodded their heads in agreement.

Septimius watched them for a few minutes, then turned to Sirius. "So, Sirius Black. What are your intentions towards our young Lord?"

"I beg your pardon?" asked Sirius, frowning.

"Your relationship with him, do you think it's going to last or is it … a passing interest?"

Sirius' frown deepened. "We've been together for three years and I'm not going anywhere any time soon." he said firmly.

Septimius nodded, deep in thought. At that moment a couple of house elves popped in the room and put tea, pastries and figure sandwiches on the tables before disappearing. They all busied themselves with the tea as an uncomfortable silence fell in the room.

"I'm curious." started Septimius, looking at him with intelligent black eyes. "I've heard rumors of you getting disowned, but I do not recall a public announcement being made. I have disowned my daughter Eileen, so I know for a fact that it is a requirement along with legal action."

"I don't know what you mean. My parents told everyone that they were disowning me. Perhaps you missed the announcement since you've been hiding here for the last twenty two years." said Sirius through greeted teeth. He didn't want to talk about how his parents had thrown him out like a broken piece of furniture. It was still a sore point.

Septimius' lips quirked a little at that. "Just because I don't mingle with the British wizarding community doesn't mean I don't get the news. You're no longer the Black Heir and you don't have access to the family vaults, but you're still in line of inheriting the title of Lord Black and the Black state. After your siblings and their offspring, of course." explained the man smugly, looking pleased with himself.

Sirius didn't say anything. The information didn't really surprise him. As much as his parents hated him, they would never allow their house to end up in the Ministry's clutches if they could help it. Another uncomfortable silence fell on the room, until Severus came in escorted by Tilda.

"How's your mom?" asked Sirius.

"She's sleeping." answered Severus with a tired smile.

"Do you want to eat something?"

"No. Let's just go home."

"No need to rush. We've already prepared a room for the two of you." said Septimius. "Stay the night at least. You both look tired."

"Severus?" asked Sirius. "You do look tired. And this way I can meet your mom in the morning." he added hopefully.

Severus sighed. "Alright. I want you to meet her, too."

"Splendid!" said Septimius, earning a glare from his grandson, which he ignored. "Tilda will show you to your room."

With that they left the Prince family and followed the elf once again. A light dinner was waiting for them in their room. They ate in bed and fell sleep soon after that.

...

Notes: It always seemed odd to me that Sirius inherited the Black state in canon, so I don't think he's officially disowned.


	71. Chapter 71

Chapter 71: The Prince Cousins

Summary: Severus gets to know his cousins.

Severus woke up with a pleasant feeling. He couldn't tell if it was the luxurious bed he was lying on or the warmth radiating from the magic in the house. Probably both.

Severus smiled to himself as he felt Sirius' morning erection against his hip. He entangled his limbs from the other boy and ducked under the covers, giving the interested member a good lick before putting his mouth around it.

"Oh, god ..." moaned Sirius groggily. "Don't stop."

Severus complied. He started moving his lips, relishing the noises coming out of his boyfriend's throat. Soon, Sirius was coming in his mouth.

"Morning." he said with a smile and found Sirius' lips, kissing him deeply.

"That was ... amazing." mumbled Sirius when he got his breath back.

"Feel free to return the favor." whispered Severus, seductively.

Sirius didn't hesitate. He rolled them over and started kissing and licking his neck. Severus arched his back and moved Sirius' hand to his cock. He was almost there when someone knocked on the door. "Fuck." he breathed as Sirius moved away, kissing his nose apologetically.

"Who is it?" asked Sirius.

"It's Tilda, Master." came the answer through the door

Severus sighed and sat up, pulling the covers up to his chin. "Come in." he called. "What is it?"

"Master Severus' cousins are asking if you'd be joining them for breakfast in the sunroom." asked the elf.

Severus glanced at Sirius who shrugged. "Give us fifteen minutes." he said.

"Tilda will be back to show the way." announced the elf with a bow and disappeared.

"Come on, Sirius. We're doing it in the shower." said Severus, getting out of bed.

...

By the time Severus and Sirius got to the sunroom, the others were already there, sitting around a large table.

"Let me know when my mother wakes up." Severus ordered Tilda, before sitting down.

"Yes, master." squeaked the house elf. She snapped her figures and plates of food appeared on the table along with milk, juice and tea.

Severus picked a bowl of oatmeal and poured some honey on top, trying to ignore the way his cousins were staring at him. He blushed when he realized they were looking at the read mark on his neck but resisted the urge to pull up his robe's collar.

"We know it's early and apologize for interrupting you." said one of the younger boys, attempting to lighten the mood. A couple of the girls giggled. "Our parents and grandfather had a late meeting last night and will probably sleep for the next couple of hours, so we thought we'd better take advantage of that."

"How about we start with the introductions?" said a serious looking boy, glaring at the others. "I'm Alexander your eldest cousin and this is my wife Sofia, we have two girls together. This is my brother Alfie and his husband Michael, they have a son. This one is Amelia, my sister and her husband Colin. The three of us are Alan's kids." he continued. The three siblings all had brown hair and dark eyes.

"And we are Kathleen's children." said a blond girl pointing to herself and a boy sitting next to her. "I'm Daniel and these are my brother Devante and my husband Frank."

"I'm Kandice, Noreen's oldest daughter and this is my husband Riley. We have a girl. This one here is my younger sister Kayla and that's the youngest cousin Kyle." explained a kind looking girl, who had black straight hair like Severus'.

"I'm Severus and you've already met Sirius." said Severus. "I had no idea I had this many cousins."

The others laughed.

"We, the Princes are the more the merrier kind of people." said Daniel with a warm smile. "It's good to meet you at last."

"Yes, we wanted to officially welcome you both to the family." added Alexander. "It's really exciting to have a Lord Prince. An occasion worth celebrating."

"You didn't seem to be in a celebratory mood last night." commented Sirius.

"No, we were quite surprised and the elders are not really happy about this. I suppose they wanted one of us to be the Lord and not just because you're a half-blood. There's bad blood between them and your mother. When she ran away, the family fell from grace and they were left to pick up the pieces."

"What about you? Doesn't it bother you that it had to be me?" asked Severus curiously.

"We already knew it wasn't any of us or our children and we've made our peace with it." said Kandice. "If anything, we are grateful. A Lord is going to make our family the most powerful one in England. Nevertheless, it's unnerving to have someone you've never met before in charge."

"You'll hold a lot of power in this family, once you claim your lordship. You can tell us what job to take and who to marry."

"Or how to raise our children."

"I see." said Severus, trying to keep track of them.

"It would make us feel better if we knew a little about you." commented Alexander. He was apparently the leader in this group as the eldest one.

"What do you want to know?" asked Severus and with that the flow of questions started. They wanted to know how old he and Sirius were and when their birthday was and if they had any brothers and sisters. They asked what they have studied and if they had a job. They even wanted know what their favorite color and favorite food was.

"Now that we've gotten the basic stuff out of the way let's get to the more important things." said the blond girl after a few minutes of silence. "How did you two meet?"

Severus blinked, not expecting that question. "We … went to Hogwarts together." he answered.

"You've been together since you were kids? That's so romantic!"

"Well, not exactly. We were more like enemies at first. I was in Slytherin and Sirius was a Gryffindor. Not to mention Sirius and his friends were always bullying me."

"Hold on! So, you went from enemies to lovers? That's even cuter."

"You guys seem awfully excited about this." observed Sirius.

"We've all had arranged marriages, so has everyone else in the family." said Amelia. "And none of us younger ones got to go to Hogwarts. We've been tutored at home, so we never had a chance for romance like that."

"Go on then! Tell us how you got together."

"I first noticed how attractive he was at a Halloween party, our sixth year." started Sirius. He looked a little less reserved, now. "He was wearing dark blue dress robes and he was talking to someone about potions, I think. His eyes were all lit up and he had a really cute smile on his face, which I had never seen before. And when the guy left he was just standing there all alone…."

"You've never told me this." said Severus, looking at his boyfriend in confusion. "I thought you were just being a jackass."

"Sshhh, I want to know what happens next!" snapped Kyle.

Sirius took Severus' hand under the table. "I wanted to wipe that shy look off his face and make him smile again, so I kissed him."

"Ahhh!" cooed the girls.

"Did he melt in your arms and kiss you back?"

Sirius chuckled. "That was the reaction I was expecting but no. He pushed me away and stormed out. He was really pissed, too. Turns out, you can't be mean to someone for five years and just throw yourself at them. It took me more than a year to get him to go out with me." he explained and turned to look at him. Severus couldn't help but smile. "Now, he smiles like that every time he sees me." added Sirius with a cheeky grin and leaned in for a kiss. Severus kissed him back.

"If you love birds are done, how about we give you a tour of the Manor?" asked Alexander. "This is going to be your home after all and we still have a good hour before the others start to wake up."

"That would be nice." said Severus with a smile, even though he could think of nicer things the two of them could be doing in their room.


	72. Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Expectations

Summary: Sirius and Severus have a meeting with with Septimius and his children.

Sirius liked Prince Manor. He had always found pureblood houses cold and intimidating but this one had an inviting feel to it and it was certainly as beautiful and majestic as any of them. Severus seemed to be enjoying the tour, as well. He hung on his cousins' every word with the serious expression Sirius remembered from school.

They had covered most of the house when and the house elf showed up and announced that Mistress Eileen was awake and expecting them.

"Should we go now?" he asked when the elf disappeared.

"Yeah, let's go." answered Severus and turned to his cousins. "Thanks for the tour, guys. I have to go check on my mother."

"Of course. We can hang out another time." said Alexander. "I trust you can find the way on your own."

"Yes, I think we can manage."

"Say hi to your mom for us." said Daniel. "A few of us are going to be in the garden if you wanted to catchup later." she added cheerfully and turned to leave with the others.

"So, how do you like your cousins?" asked Sirius as they made their way to the west wing.

"They're friendly, I guess." answered Severus. "What do you think of them?"

"They seem decent, maybe a tad pretentious but all the purebloods are like that. I like Daniel. She reminds me of my cousin Andromeda."

"Speaking of which, there's an order meeting tonight. They want me to brew veritaserum, Merlin knows for what. Good thing it's Saturday."

"Yeah. We'll go home first and get there with Remus." said Sirius, taken aback with the change of topic. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just overwhelming, meeting all these people after so many years." answered Severus shortly. He stopped in front of a door and knocked before pushing it open, it was no longer locked.

Eileen was sitting next to the fireplace with an empty tea cup in her lap. "Severus!" she exclaimed, her tiered eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Hi, mom. How did you sleep?" asked Severus.

"You know how it is. My back doesn't let me sleep that well." answered Eileen, shifting in her chair. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Sirius, my boyfriend. He wanted to meet you before we left." said Severus and sat down on the couch in front of her.

"Come closer, dear. Let me have a look at you."

"Hello, Mrs. Snape." said Sirius with a cheeky grin and sat next to Severus.

"Call me Eileen, dear. Do you boys want some tea?"

"Sure." answered Severus. He took the tea cup gently out of his mother's hands and adjusted the blanket over her shoulders before preparing their tea.

Eileen turned to Sirius and gave him an apprising look. "Severus tells me you were in Hogwarts together."

"Yes. ma'am."

"That's odd. I don't remember him ever mentioning you before. To be honest I always thought he would end up with Lily. She is such a lovely girl and beautiful, too." said Eileen.

"Mom!" snapped Severus.

"What, honey? It's the truth. I never had the faintest idea you were interested in boys."

Severus didn't say anything. He picked up his cup and sipped his tea, scowling.

"So, what was Severus like as kid? Was he always reading?" asked Sirius, trying to change the subject.

Eileen chuckled. "He did like reading, specially books about magic, but he spent most of his time playing in the forest. Sometimes he stayed there all day." she answered with a fond look on her face.

Sirius' eyebrows shot up. "The forest behind the house? You went there all by yourself?" he asked Severus.

Severus just nodded in answer.

"That's before he became friends with Lily. The two of them were inseparable. But yes, Severus has always been self-reliant." said Eileen. "He was a caring and sweet little boy. When I was too sick to cook, he would make soup with whatever we had in the house. He couldn't even reach the stove, had to stand on a stool. I guess I should have known he'd become a potion Master someday."

"He's not just a potion Master. He's the finest one in England." said Sirius, a little defensively.

"Of course he is. I always knew he was special. I never would have guessed he was Lord Prince, though. I used to love hearing stories about it when I was a kid."

"I bet that was nice. Growing up in a Manor like this, with people catering to your every whim." sneered Sirius. His boyfriend elbowed him in the ribs but Eileen didn't seem to notice his tone. She was looking into space with a faraway look on her face.

"Prince Manor is an amazing place to grow up. Those were the happiest years of my life." whispered Eileen, she turned to Severus with a big smile. "Your kids are going to grow up here. I can't wait to have a grandchild."

Severus stared at her with a panicked look. "A grandchild?" he breathed.

"I don't mean right away, dear." said Eileen with a teasing smile.

It was a relief when they heard a knock on the door.

"Eileen? Open the door. It's time for your potions." said a feminine voice.

"It's open."

Kathleen, Eileen's older sister, opened the door a second later, holding a tray filled with vials. "Good, you're here. We're having a family meeting in five minutes and father wants the two of you there." she told him and Severus. "I have to get Eileen her potions. You two go ahead. The meeting's in the study, right down the hall." she added.

"I'll come see you again, soon." said Severus and kissed his mother on the forehead before turning to leave, Sirius on his heels.

"You don't like my mother." said Severus matter of fact, when they got out of the earshot.

"I … It's not that I don't like her. She's nice."

"But?"

Sirius sighed. "It's just that, the way she talked about your childhood bothered me. She's obviously been neglectful and she thinks it was OK." he explained.

"Mom was always sick. She couldn't take care of me." said Severus quietly.

"But she had enough energy to fight with your dad all the time." snapped Sirius.

"That wasn't all her fault. Dad drank too much, and he was an ass when he was drunk."

"You shouldn't defend her, not after what she put you through."

"She apologized last night." said Severus, running a hand through his hair. "Just drop it, Sirius. I know she's not perfect but I love her."

They were both silent the rest of the way to the study. Alan and Noreen were already seated, talking together in a hushed tone. They nodded to them in acknowledgment but continued to whisper to each other. Soon, Septimius and Kathleen joined them.

Septimius sat behind his desk and turned his attention to Severus. "The fact that you are the chosen Lord was a shock for all of us, but we've talked about it and have decide that it's in everyone's best interest to go through with this despite our personal feelings." he started. "The Lordship is passed on through a ceremony. We're going to make preparations this week so that we can perform the ceremony as soon as possible. You have already reached the appropriate age, so the only issue is the matter of your marriage."

"Marriage?" asked Severus, frowning.

"Has your mother taught him nothing?" said Noreen with a long suffering sigh. "You need to be married to someone from a high standing family. It's a symbol of adulthood and responsibility and your respect for the old ways."

"You think I'm going marry some random guy just because you tell me to?" snapped Severus, his eyes flashing with anger.

"You WILL get married. The magic won't accept you as the Lord if you don't follow tradition." said Septimius and raised a hand as they both made to protest. "And no, it doesn't necessarily have to be a random guy. It could be you Mr. Black, that is if you succeed to mend things with your parents and get back in their good graces. Otherwise we'll find a suitable suitor ourselves."

"I'm not your pawn and don't give a damn about any of this. We may share the same blood but you're all a bunch of strangers to me. None of you have the right to make decisions about my life." bellowed Severus, getting to his feet.

Septimius rose to his feet as well. "Watch your tone, young man! You're not the Prince Lord, yet and I'm still the head of this household. You'll address me with respect as long as you're under this roof."

"Fair enough." sneered Severus. "Let's go, Sirius."

"Are you insane, boy? Don't you understand how much power you can have in a couple of weeks?" snapped Alan.

"Did you think you can just barge in here and claim the Lordship without making any effort?" asked Kathleen.

"I didn't come here for the Lordship, I came to see my mother. I'm going to come visit her every week from now on, so you'd better get used to it." said Severus and stormed out of the room.

Sirius ran after him. He tried to push down the disappointment and hurt as he fell in step beside his boyfriend. He kept his tongue all the way to the front porch, but couldn't keep his emotions under control any longer. "Is it so horrible? The thought of marring me?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"What?!" said Severus, coming to a halt. "Sirius, what do you ... I didn't mean to …"

"Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything."

"It wasn't about you, I was angry at the way they were planning everything and they wanted to make you go back to your family."

"I would do it for you." said Sirius quietly, surprising himself.

"Do you … want to get married?" asked Severus, uncertainly.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it for a while. Do you?"

"I don't know. I … Let me think about it, alright?" said Severus. "Let's go home. I don't want to stay here any longer."


	73. Chapter 73

Chapter 73: The Veritaserum

Summary: Severus starts brewing veritaserum for the order.

"Lord Prince? But you weren't their heir, right?" asked Remus in confusion.

"The title passes on with magic and it usually skips a generation or two." explained Lisa and turned to Severus. "You don't look too happy about this."

"I don't like the way they're treating me. They're too controlling."

"You have to find a way to get along with them if you want the Lordship."

"I'm not sure I want it." said Severus with a frown. "If this had happened five or six years ago I would have done anything to please them but I have a good life, now. I don't need them."

"You should at least think about it, Sev. I know I would." commented Remus.

Severus nodded. "I'm hungry. You guys want to order something?" he asked.

Sirius was on his feet in a flash. "I'll go get a pizza." he said and walked to the door.

"I'm going with you." said Remus and went after him.

Severus sank back in his chair with a sigh when he heard the door closing behind them.

"Is everything alright between you two?" asked Lisa.

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell there's some tension there and Sirius has been awfully quiet today. If you tell me what's wrong maybe I can help."

"Do you promise to keep it to yourself?" asked Severus. Lisa nodded in answer. "Sirius kind of proposed to me."

"Really? What did you say?"

"I said I should think about it."

"That's not exactly what a guy wants to hear, you know." said Lisa, studying him for a moment. "Why don't you want to get married?"

"It's not that I don't love him or anything like that, It's just … my parents' marriage was such a disaster. None of them were bad people, not really but they were fighting all the time and my father was so mean to my mom that it made me hate him. Sirius and I are good together. I don't want to ruin it."

"Just because your parents' marriage was bad doesn't mean yours has to be, too." said Lisa and patted his hand. "You two make each other happy and you're already living together. Things are not suddenly going to change if you bond."

"Why do we need to get married at all?"

"Because … it's a symbol of commitment and a way to celebrate your love with your friends and family." answered Lisa, matter of fact. "It's obviously important to Sirius."

"What about you? Do you think about marriage?"

"I do but I don't see it happening any time soon. I know Remus isn't going to ask and quite frankly, right now it's better if we're just boyfriend and girlfriend." said Lisa gloomily. "Perhaps if things change …" she trailed off, looking at her nails.

Severus tried to come up with something comforting to say. "It's for the best. You're both busy right now. You have your apprenticeship and Remus has medical school." he said at last.

Lisa only smiled in answer.

...

The order headquarter was as crowded as ever and it took them a few minutes to spot Andromeda and his husband.

"Hey, Andromeda. Sorry I couldn't visit you sooner, something came up. Are you guys alright?" asked Sirius with concern. There has had been an attack on their house the day before.

"We're fine, cousin." said Andromeda with a warm smile. "Nymphadora was a bit shaken yesterday but she's doing better."

"Where is she?"

"She's taking a nap." answered Andromeda before turning to Severus. "How's your research going, Severus? You've made some progress I believe."

"We've had success with controlling the nerve damage. The new potion has increased the recovery rate by eighty percent."

"It shows." said Tedd. "I took the curse yesterday but now I'm good as new. No tremor or anything."

"Yes, the potion can be very effective if applied immediately. It takes longer to cure people who'd been under the spell for extended periods of time, though."

"So, what's next?"

"I'm going to keep working on the nerve damage potion but right now my main focus is brain damage. The biggest problem is that there aren't that many patients in St. Mungo's as point of reference. It's a good thing I suppose but it makes my work harder." explained Severus. He jumped when someone patted him on the shoulder.

"Quit bragging, Snape. You've got to start that potion right away." said James Potter.

"Right." murmured Severus and gave Sirius a kiss before following Potter to the kitchen, where a cauldron was already set up. He inspected the ingredients carefully before choosing a knife.

Potter watched him as he started the preparations. "Have you done this before?" he asked.

"Veritaserum? I've made it once at the Mastery program and I checked my notes before coming here."

"You're sure you can make it, then?"

"Positive." snapped Severus and gave the other boy a good glare before going back to his work.

"I didn't mean to offend you. Everyone knows how talented you are." said Potter. "I'm just double checking. We need the potion and we can't trust the ministry's version."

"Hmm."

"It was good of you to take Remus on as an apprentice. It means a lot to him." the boy commented after a few minutes of silence.

"He deserves it and he's a great help." said Severus. He measured the herbs and added them to them boiling cauldron, stirring clockwise. "How's Lily? She's not here, is she?" he asked when he saw Potter still hadn't moved.

"Yeah, she's staying at her mother's. She went there a couple of days ago. It's gotten hard for her to move about and we thought it was better if she didn't stay home alone." answered Potter, running a hand through his messy hair. "I go visit her every day but I always end up fighting with her sister. That girl is the most unagreeable person I've ever met, you included."

Severus smiled a little. "Petunia isn't that bad. She just gets defensive. You have to learn to ignore her barbs and stay out of her way. Also, don't get involve in her and Lily's fights. They're going to make up eventually and Lily will end up blaming you for the fight."

Potter nodded thoughtfully. He was about to say something when a silvery light came in through the open door. The boy ran to the sitting room. Severus stirred the potion again. He could hear muffle sounds, but he couldn't make out the words. When the potion got to the stage that it could be left alone, Severus put a static charm on it and went after Potter.

"… We need everyone. Find a partner and apparate in pairs …" Potter was saying.

"What's going on?" asked Severus, making his way to his boyfriend.

"A patronus came. The Aurors need help." said Sirius urgently and took Severus's hand in his own.

"You're not coming, Snape." snapped Potter when he was done yelling instructions to the room. "We need that potion exactly thirty days from now and someone has to stay with Nymphadora." he added when Severus made to protest and roughly took Sirius's arm, separating them.

They were gone a second later. Severus stood there stunned as the sitting room emptied, with sounds of apparition echoing against the walls.

"Where did everyone go?" asked a small voice.

Severus turned to see a young girl standing on top of the staircase. He took a deep breath and attempted a smile. "They had to go check something."

The girl climbed down the stairs, giving him an apprising look. "Are you supposed to watch me?"

"Um, … yes. I also have to make a potion."

"What's your name?"

"Severus. My friends call me Sev for short."

"I like your name. My name is Nymphadora but I don't like it." said the girl. "Can you make me a sandwich?"

"Sure, let's see what we have in the kitchen." said Severus. He tried to push down his anxiety and focus on the task in hand. "There's some ham. You want a ham and cheese sandwich?" he asked as he inspected the ice box.

"OK." said Nymphadora, sitting at the kitchen table. "How old are you?" she asked curiously.

"Twenty. What about you?"

"I'm seven. I have to wait four years to go to Hogwarts." she answered, pouting. "We're living here now because our house isn't safe anymore."

"That … happens sometimes." said Severus awkwardly and put the sandwich in front of Nymphadora. "I have to get back to my potion."

"Are you a potion Master?"

"Yes." answered Severus and picked up his knife.

"You're cousin Sirius' boyfriend!" exclaimed Nymphadora.

"I am."

"Do you kiss him?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to have a boyfriend when I go to Hogwarts." said the girl. She made a face when Severus started gutting the newts. "That's cool! Can I help?"

Severus chuckled. "I can't let you use a knife but you can crush the snake fangs after you finish eating."

Nymphadora put the rest of her sandwich in her mouth and stepped closer. Severus wiped his hands before setting up a mortar and pestle and putting a fang inside. "You have to make this into a powder. Watch your hands, alright?"

"OK." answered Nymphadora and started crushing with enthusiasm. She continued to ask questions as they worked.

Severus didn't really mind, he was actually grateful for the distraction. When the potion was done the two of them went back to the sitting room and Nymphadora started reading one of her books to him. They were half way through the book when they heard a pop of apparition.

"Nymphadora!" called Andromeda.

"Mummy! You're back." said her daughter. "I made a potion."

"That must have been fun." said Tedd, joining them. "Come on. Let's go get some pumpkin juice." he added when his eyes fell on Severus.

"Where's Sirius? Is he …." asked Severus as soon as the father and daughter left the room.

"He's hurt, but it's not bad. Poor Alastor though got the worst of it." answered Andromeda.

"Did they take Sirius to St. Mungo's?"

"Yes, his friend Remus took him. Thank you for watching Nymphadora. I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"I have to go. Tell Potter I'll come check on the potion in a week. Be careful not to disturb it in the meantime." said Severus urgently and apparated away.


	74. Chapter 74

Chapter 74: The Proposal

Summary: Severus goes to St. Mungo's to visit Sirius.

The emergency room was chaotic. Severus looked franticly around until one of the healers told him they had already transferred Sirius to the spell damage ward. He ran all the way there and finally found his boyfriend on a bed in the corner.

"Sirius!" he called and rushed to the bed. Sirius turned to him, wincing at the effort. Severus sighed when he saw the boy's face was intact. His neck had a burn but it didn't look serious. Severus ran his eyes over Sirius' limbs next, making sure they were all there. His eyes stopped at the bandaged leg and he looked up. "What happened? Is it only your leg?" he asked.

"Don't worry. It's nothing."

"It's obviously something! If you want to make me feel better tell me what happened."

"Something exploded behind me and I got a burn. It's a bit bad on my leg but they say it will be fine after a few days."

"Thank Merlin" breathed Severus. He sat on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes in relief. "I was so worried. That arse, Potter! Every time I feel like he might be half decent he pulls something like this."

"I'm kind of gland you didn't come. It was a house in the middle of nowhere and they had traps all over the place. Moody stepped right on one of them. Remus said he's going to lose a leg." said Sirius, shuddering in remembrance.

Severus leaned forward and gave him a light kiss, careful not to hurt him. "You can tell me all about it tomorrow. Right now we should focus on your injuries." he said looking critically at Sirius' neck. "Did they bandage anything besides your leg?"

"No, they … I was one of the first ones here and they wanted to get to the others."

"That's what I thought." murmured Severus. He took out a few vials and some bandage from his pockets. "Did they give you a pain killer?"

"Yeah, but it's wearing off."

"Here. Take a swallow." said Severus, holding one of the vials to his lips. He then waved his wand, and pulled the curtains closed.

Sirius sighed as the potion worked and leaned back. "That's better."

"I'm going to check your burns. Let me get you out of this gown." said Severus. He lifted the blanket, then gently opened the gown and took it off. That done, he started tending to the burns. There were red burn marks all over Sirius' body but they were worst on his back and legs. "All done." he announced after working for a few minutes in silence.

"It was nice." said Sirius with a grin.

"Really? Well, lucky for you we're going to have to do that again." said Severus, smiling back. He helped Sirius back into his gown and opened the curtains. "Feeling better?"

"Much better."

"Master Snape?" called someone from the doorway. It was healer Brown, the department head. "There's a patient here who wishes to see you. He's name is Evan Rosier."

Severus blinked. "Evan? … I can't right now. Tell him I'll visit tomorrow."

"I'm afraid he doesn't have much time. We wanted to contact his family but he asked for you instead."

"He's dying." said Severus more to himself than anyone else. He ran a hand through his hair and turned to Sirius. "Is it Ok if I go?"

"Yeah, it's fine. It's not like you're going to … .I mean, the man's dying. You should go hear him out." answered Sirius reluctantly.

"Thank you." said Severus. He got numbly to his feet and followed the woman to the room across the hall.

The healer stopped him at the door and went inside alone. She was there a few minutes before stepping in the corridor again. "I gave him a pepper up and pain killer. He probably has about fifteen minutes. Let someone know when you're done." she said quietly before rushing down the corridor to her office.

"Severus?" whispered Evan as soon as he walked in.

"Yes, it's me." answered Severus, he closed the door and walked closer to the lone bed.

"I didn't think you'd come." said Evan with sad eyes. He was breathing heavily and there was a bloody bandage around his head. "I don't look good, do I?"

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry this happened to you."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew all the things I've done." said Evan, swallowing hard. "You knew how things would turn out, didn't you? You were always the smart one." he continued and started coughing uncontrollably.

Severus picked up a glass of water from the nightstand and held it to the man's mouth. "I should have told you. You meant a lot to me. I should have been honest with you."

Evan chuckled weakly at that. "Is that why you didn't tell the Aurors it was me? Because you felt guilty? I've always wondered about that. You did know it was me, right?"

"I knew. I was mad at you, but I understood."

"I'm glad you didn't tell me you've changed loyalties. I helped them kidnap you when I thought you were with us, Merlin knows what I would have done if …" Evan trailed off, staring at the ceiling.

"You wouldn't have hurt me."

"Don't be so sure." whispered Evan and turned his hunted eyes to Severus, again. "I've done things. All I wanted was to make my family proud, to be a good son. Now I'm dying and I don't have one damn thing to be proud of!" he snapped and started coughing again.

"Is there something I can do? To make you feel better." asked Severus, taking one of the shaking hands in his own.

"I wish there was something I could do to make things right. To bring the bastard down but there isn't. There isn't anything any of us can do."

"What if there was? If you give me your memory of getting marked I'm sure I can use it against him. I already know what kind of magic he uses but I'm not sure about the details. Will you help me?"

"You promise to try to destroy him?" asked Evan, his eyes sparkling with something like hope.

Severus hesitated before nodding. "I promise."

"Go ahead, then. You can have the memory."

...

Sirius sat in his bed listening to people moving around. There were four other patients in the room and they all had a few visitors with them. He imagined what it would be like to watch someone die. He had seen quite a few deaths that day but it had happened too quickly for him to sink it in. He turned to the door as he heard someone walk in.

"Sorry it took so long. I needed a few minutes." said Severus as he sat on the edge of the bed. "I got dinner. You hungry?" he added with a drained smile.

"Is he …?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, he's gone." answered Severus quietly and gave him a plate filled with pasta. "You know I love you, right?"

"I do."

"I wasn't sure about getting married because of my parents. I don't want the two of us to turn out like them, but … there's really no point in being afraid."

"What are you saying?" asked Sirius, trying not to get his hopes up.

"I'm saying, getting married is scary but I have nothing to be afraid of when I'm with you." said Severus, smiling for real this time. "Sirius Orion Black will you marry me?"

"You really want to get married?"

"No, I want to be married to you. I don't care if I become a Lord or not. I want to stay with you for the rest of my life."

"Yes! Of course I'll marry you." said Sirius, pulling the other boy down for a kiss. He couldn't remember being this happy in his entire life. "You'd make a fine Lord, you know. I could tell you liked that house and having your cousins around." he added, when he'd kissed his fiancé breathless.

"But your family …"

"They're not exactly pleasant but they're still my parents. Seeing you with your mother made me kind of jealous. I haven't seen my mom and dad in a long time." admitted Sirius. "I've been thinking a lot about this. I want them to cut off Voldemorte. I bet I can convince them to do it. Having connections to Lord Prince isn't something my parents can resist, they put wizarding traditions above everything else and they crave power."

Severus frowned in thought. "Yes, you're probably right. And this way Regulus will be safe."

"So? Are you going to contact your family?"

"I'm pretty sure they will be contacting me." said Severus. "Let's focus on dinner for now. It's getting cold."


	75. Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Harry Potter

Summary: Lily goes into labor.

Severus woke up to someone shaking his shoulder. He squinted in the dark room and stifled a yawn. "Remus?" he asked groggily. "What time is it?"

"It's almost five. Lily's gone into labor, they just brought her in. Last night it was Alice and now her." answered Remus distractedly.

"Is someone with her?"

"Yeah, her mother and sister are here and so is James. I thought you might want to go, too."

"I'm going to wait for Sirius to wake up, then ..." started Severus. He was interrupted when Sirius shifted beside him, almost making him fall down the edge of the narrow hospital bed.

"I'm awake." murmured Sirius.

"How are you feeling?" asked Severus, sitting up.

"Much better ... love." said Sirius with a wolfish grin and put a finger on his lips, asking for a kiss.

Severus smiled and gave his fiancé a small kiss before turning to Remus. "Can you get a healer to check his leg? Nobody came last night."

"Sure, anything else?"

"I wanted to go get some of his stuff from home this morning, but if I'm going to go see Lily ..."

"I'll go get it. Do you need anything?" said Remus, walking to the door.

"No, I keep an extra set of robes in my office."

"Bring me my transfiguration notes, will you? They're on the coffee table." added Sirius.

"Yeah, I'll send in a healer and then go home, then." said Remus and stepped out the door.

"I'll go get you some water to freshen up." announced Severus, getting out of bed.

"If by that you mean a sponge bath, then count me in."

"Not really, but something tells me you'd be getting one this evening." said Severus with a wink and put on his boots. He then picked up his robes from the back of the chair and went in the bathroom. He came back a few minutes later with a large bowl, which he had transfigured from a cup, filled with lukewarm water plus soap and a towel.

"Here, let me help you sit up." said Severus after he placed the bowl on the night stand. "Does your leg still hurt?"

"Only when I move it." answered Sirius and leaned on the other boy as he pulled himself up.

"That's good." commented Severus, he levitated the bowl and held it in front of Sirius. "Do you want me to shave for you?"

"Na, I'm going to keep the stubble."

"As long as it stays in the stubble phase."

"Oh, come on. It would be fun." said Sirius with a grin as he accepted the towel and dried up his face. "We can both grow beards!"

"So, we get engaged and we suddenly stop shaving?" asked Severus with a raised eyebrow. "You know, when I asked you to marry me, I meant I wanted to spend the rest of my life with my handsome boyfriend not some hairy goat."

"Hey! I can pull off a beard." said Sirius, pouting. "I bet you could, too. You should give it a shot."

"I've already seen my dad with a beard. Trust me, it's not a good look."

Sirius picked up his wand and transfigured a quill into a comb, giving up on the beard for now. "I was meaning to ask, are we telling people we're engaged? I mean, I didn't know if I should tell Remus or not since you didn't say anything."

"I don't know. I wouldn't mind people knowing … It's just that we still haven't figured out the situation with our families. I guess there's no harm in telling Remus and Lisa." answered Severus thoughtfully. "We could tell them over dinner, as soon as you're out of here."

"Sounds good." said Sirius and leaned in for a heated kiss. "Any thoughts about the wedding?"

"Who's getting married?" asked someone from the doorway.

"Hey, Andrew" said Severus, avoiding the question. He smoothed his robes and ran a hand through his hair. "Are you here to check on Sirius?"

"Yes. Let's have a look." murmured the Andrew. He stepped closer and started to unwrap the bandage. "It seems to be healing, nicely." he said as he examined the injury.

"Does that mean I can take him home soon?"

"I think he should stay for another night." answered Andrew and turned to Sirius. "You're going to have to take it easy for a few days but I'm sure you'll be up and about in time for your wedding." he continued with a smirk.

Severus sighed. "We didn't want to tell anyone yet. Can you please keep it to yourself?"

"Come now. It's not like it's such a big surprise. Besides everyone can use some good news around here."

"Andrew!"

"Shhh … you're going to wake Mrs. Hopwood." scowled Andrew, tilting his head in the direction of the woman sleeping in the bed next to Sirius'. "Run along, Sev. I'm going to need to have a word with your fiancé, make sure he's going to treat you right."

"Very funny." snapped Severus.

Sirius chuckled. "You better get going. You wouldn't want to miss the birth." he said.

"I'd take a shower before going down there if I were you." added Andrew and started working on Sirius' leg.

Severus rolled his eyes and make his way to his lab. He did take a shower and put on fresh robes. He was making a pot of coffee when a large white and gray owl flew in and sat in front of him.

"Letter for me?" asked Severus. The owl hooted softly in response and held out her leg.

"Thank you." murmured Severus and extracted the parchment. It had a seal with silver wax. He could make out a wild pony on it and the letter 'P'. "Is it from Prince Manor?" he asked. The owl hooted again.

"That's a long way. You must have been flying all night. How about some water and owl treats?" asked Severus and took out a few owl treats out of the drawer. He then picked up the mugs he kept in the cabinets above the sink and filled one of them with water for the owl before pouring coffee in the other three. "You can have a couple of cookies, too if you like." he said noticing the longing look the bird was giving the cookies on the counter and held out the plate to her. The owl nibbled at his fingers affectionately before choosing one of Remus' favorite chocolate chip ones.

Severus smiled at the owl's enthusiasm as she tore into the cookie and picked up the tray he had prepared. "I'm going to read the letter later. You can stay here for now if you're expecting a reply." said Severus as he walked to the door.

He rushed to the first floor to the maternity ward and found Petunia sitting at the waiting room.

"Severus! You've got tea? I wanted to go get some but I didn't want to walk around in this place all by myself. Not to mention I don't have any of your wired money on me." said Petunia.

"It's coffee. I can get you some tea later. The cafeteria will open in thirty minutes."

"Coffee's fine. Thank you." said Petunia and accepted the mug he held out to her.

"How's Lily?" asked Severus, sipping his own drink.

"Last I heard she was doing fine. Mom and her husband are in there with her." she answered with a sigh. "Soon, she'll have a baby and I don't even have a husband."

"Aren't you excited about becoming an aunt?"

"I guess. I would have been happy for her if she'd get off my back and stop trying to set me up with someone." said Petunia with a dark scowl. "As if I'm not upset enough. I saw Vernon the other day with his wife, who's apparently pregnant with twins. They stopped by the book store I work in to buy a baby names book but I'm sure he was there to gloat. His drill business is doing great, he says and they live in a nice neighborhood in Surrey."

"Sounds like a total jerk."

"He is." agreed Petunia. "I know I made the right decision when I left him but I've always dreamed of having a life like that, living in a big house in the suburbs with a nice garden. I can never afford that with the kind of money I make. There is this guy at the bookstore that likes me, but he's as penniless as I am."

"You're not exactly penniless, you know. When we were kids, I always thought you and Lily lived like kings." commented Severus.

"I bet you did. I remember how used to dress." said Petunia. "You seem to be doing alright for yourself now, if the expensive coffee you drink is anything to go by. You're still with that curly haired guy?"

"Yeah, well actually we've decided to get married."

"Really? You can marry a guy?" asked Petunia. Severus nodded in response. "Wait … this means you're getting married before me!"

"We do have some family stuff to work out first, so you have time to catch up."

"In that case, Congratulations." said Petunia, raising her mug.

"Thank you. You shouldn't tell anyone, though. We got engaged last night and we haven't told our friends."

"You're secret's safe with me." promised Petunia. "Give me more of that coffee."

"Here." said Severus, giving her the remaining mug. "So, where is that bookstore you work at? What's it like?" he asked.

They talked about books for some time before Mrs. Evans called them in. Lily was lying in bed, looking completely worn out and Potter was sitting next to her, holding a small bundle of blankets in his arms.

"Let me see." said Petunia taking the bundle out of Potter's arms.

Severus stood by the door as the others cooed over the baby.

"Come meet my son, Sev." said Lily after a few minutes.

Severus stepped a little closer, looking over Petunia's shoulder.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Snape!" snapped Potter "It's a baby, not a dark artifact. Just watch his head." he added as he put the boy into his arms.

Severus looked down at the sleeping child. He was much smaller than Draco and his skin was red and wrinkled.

...

"There you are." said Sirius as he walked in the room. "How was it?"

Severus stared at him for a few seconds. "It was fine. Lily's fine and so is her … baby."

"Are you alright? You look tired."

"I'm fine … It's just … I've got a letter from the Princes this morning." said Severus taking the parchment out of his pocket. He decided he didn't need to worry about having children, yet. They had just gotten engaged.


	76. Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Commitment

Summary: Severus has a meeting with Alan.

Sirius was sitting on his bed, leaning against the headboard as he went through his transfiguration notes. Severus was at the foot of the bed with his healing book. They used to study like that in their tiny dorm room back in Germany.

The thought brought a smile to Sirius' face. "How's your research going?" he asked, nudging Severus with his good leg.

"Slow." answered Severus without looking up.

"Why?"

"I can't start with potions, because I've only got three patients, so I have to figure out what the problem is exactly before trying to heal it and so far all I can say is that mind healing is a bitch and it doesn't make any kind of sense to a sane person." said Severus and closed his book with a snap.

Sirius couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You think that's funny? Good luck getting another sponge bath."

"Sorry, love." said Sirius, trying to control his laughter. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Severus sighed and scooched over to Sirius' side. "What are you working on? 'transfiguring materials and textures' is that a thing?" asked Severus, reading his notes.

"Yep. It's really useful, actually."

"I thought you were more into animal transfiguration."

"I don't know … this kind of stuff is more practical." said Sirius. "Is that a baby crying?" he asked.

A moment later James walked in, holding his fussing boy. "Look who's here, Harry. It's your uncles." he whispered to the child as he came in.

"Is that Harry?" asked Sirius with a grin, sitting straighter. "Give him here!" he said holding out his arms. James passed the baby to him and sat down on a chair.

Sirius cooed over the boy and got him to calm down. "He looks just like you, James except for his eyes. Isn't he cute, Sev?" he asked turning to his fiancé.

"I guess." murmured Severus, shifting uncomfortably.

"You know, if you've told us you two were engaged, we would have chosen you as god parents." commented James with a frown.

"Petunia told you?" asked Severus in disbelief.

"You told Petunia?" Sirius asked him.

"She knew?" exclaimed James. "Remus was the one that told us. He said we should keep it to ourselves, though. Is it like a big secret?"

"Not anymore." said Sirius with a sigh and turned to Severus. "Do you want to hold him?"

"No, I'm good. I'd better get going. I have some brewing to do and you know about the meeting this evening." he answered as he got out of bed hastily and put on his robes.

"Oh! I almost forgot. You're scared of babies." said James with a smirk. Severus glared at him before storming out.

"Can't you go five minutes without teasing him?" snapped Sirius. "What's wrong with you?"

James shrugged. "It's true. He was like that yesterday, too." he said taking Harry, who was fussing again.

Sirius looked at where Severus had been sitting a moment ago. He knew by now that his fiancé had commitment issues but he hadn't known the thought of having a baby would freak him out like this. He turned his attention back to James, who was watching him with a glint in his eyes. "Out of curiosity, who are Harry's god parents?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Frank and Alice. They have a son, too; Neville. Like I said, if we knew you were getting married we would have chosen you, instead. You used to be my best friend in school and Lily likes Severus."

"What about Peter?"

"Peter, taking care of a kid? You're joking, right?" sneered James. "Besides, I don't really hang out with him anymore. I vouched for him to be in the order but I won't be caught dead talking to him."

"Figures." murmured Sirius, remembering what Remus had told him years ago about how him and Peter would be pushed aside if Sirius and James weren't friends anymore.

"Listen. I think Harry needs a change. See you later." said James.

"Yeah, give my best to Lily."

...

Severus rubbed at his eyes and picked up the sketch Remus had drawn earlier of the human brain.

"Am I going too fast?" asked Remus, pausing in his lecture.

"Kind of." murmured Severus. "Give me a few minutes." he added as he picked up Remus' medicine book and started to read the part Remus had been explaining.

"I'll get it." said Remus with a sigh.

Severus hummed in reply. He hadn't really heard anyone knocking.

"Good evening." greeted someone from the door. His voice was oddly familiar. "I have an appointment with Master Snape."

"He's right here." said Remus pleasantly.

Severus frowned and closed the book as Alan Prince walked into his small office.

"You were expecting me, were you not?" asked Alan, taking in the parchments and books covering his desk. "I believe you said five o'clock in your letter."

"It's five already? I'm sorry, I lost track of time. Mr. Prince, I'd like you to meet my apprentice Remus Lupin."

"Alan Prince." said Alan, holding a hand to Remus.

"How do you do?" responded Remus politely and shook the man's hand, before turning to Severus. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sev. You can keep the book."

Severus nodded to Remus and gestured for Alan to take a seat. "Would you like some coffee?" he asked as he cleared out the desk with a wave of his wand and send the scrolls and books to the shelf behind his desk.

"No, thank you." answered Alan. "I appreciate you agreeing to meet with me. I can see that you're very busy."

"You didn't say much in your letter. I was curious to be honest."

"You're not one for the pleasantries, are you boy? Very well, Let's get to it." said Alan, giving him a calculating look. "What is that you want? What do you expect from the family?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

Severus stared at him for a few minutes, considering. "For starter, I don't appreciate the way you seem to be planning my future. I may be young but I'm not some kid you can order around."

"You certainly aren't." agreed Alan. "You've made quite a name for yourself in the past few years. Something that men twice your age can't easily claim to have achieved. We've asked around, you see and I must admit I'm impressed. You've also made quite an impression on your cousins. My son Alfie is specially fond of you. They were all disappointed when they heard news of your departure. That's one of the reasons I'm here and I'll do all I can to get you back to the family."

"You could have ... I reached out to you two years ago. You and your children didn't want to have anything to do with me back then." said Severus quietly, trying to keep his emotions under control.

"To be fair, the kids didn't know about that. But essentially, you're right. We've grown up with certain rules and principles which had turned us prejudiced. Obviously we've been short sided, focusing on your blood status. We also held you responsible for the way your mother jeopardized our family." admitted Alan, his voice laced with regret. "If you accept the honor of becoming the Lord, you will be the one making the rules. You can become one of the most powerful people in the wizarding Britain and even change the outcome of the war."

"I'm not a politician, I'm a scientist. The work I do here is important. I don't want to quit."

"You don't have to. You'll have responsibilities and things to tend to as the Lord, of course and you're going to have to move in the Manor but it doesn't mean you can't hold a job."

"I'm not marrying anyone other than Sirius." said Severus firmly.

Alan sighed. "We have nothing against the two of you getting married. But it can't happen if he doesn't have his family's blessing. You're going to have control over family rules but you're still bound to follow tradition, otherwise the magic won't accept you."

"Sirius is willing to talk to his parents. He won't be going right away, though. He was injured and he still hasn't completely recovered."

"Yes, I've heard. How is he?" asked Alan.

"He's better. He was discharged this afternoon but he still needs a couple of days to rest."

"Very well. Perhaps you can inform us about how this ... reunion goes when you come visit Eileen this weekend and we will decide where to go from there." proposed Alan, getting to his feet.

"Alright. See you then." said Severus and watched the man leave.


	77. Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Grimmauld Place

Summary: Sirius negotiates with his parents.

Sirius stood at the corner, staring down the Grimmauld Place. The street looked as gloomy as he remembered but smaller somehow, less intimidating.

"I still think I should come with you." said Severus, standing beside him.

"Trust me on this, Sev. I know my parents are going to freak out if they see you and they'll start saying things."

"I don't care."

"Well, I do!" snapped Sirius. "Besides, I'll have a better chance of getting them to hear me out if I don't provoke them."

"Whatever you think is best." said Severus reluctantly. "I'll wait for you at Dan's. If you don't show up in half an hour I'll come looking for you, alright?"

"Fine." agreed Sirius. From the look Severus was giving him he knew there was no point in arguing. Truth be told, he was grateful for the backup. The Black family house was practically the enemy zone. That's why he had decided to go unannounced, to avoid getting ambushed.

Severus gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Just remember, no matter what happens in there, you'll always have me and I love you more than anything." he whispered.

Sirius felt warmth spreading through him at hearing those words and stood a bit straighter. "Thank you, love. See you at the bar."

Severus squeezed his hand again and walked away. Sirius watched him disappear in the crowd before stepping between numbers eleven and thirteen. A moment later, number twelve appeared in front of him, tall and proud. He climbed the front stairs and rang the bell, waiting. The door opened a fracture and Sirius saw Kreacher's giant eyes peering at him.

"Let me in, Kreacher." order Sirius. He was hoping this would work since he wasn't officially disowned.

Kreacher complied and opened the door while shooting him a dirty look. He disappeared a moment later, no doubt to inform his Master and Mistress. Sirius took a deep breath as he waited in the entrance hall. He had to stay in control of his emotions if he wanted this to work.

"Sirius?!" exclaimed Walburga Black as she rushed through the door, staring at him in disbelief.

"It's really you." whispered his father in awe from behind her.

That seemed to bring his mother out of her trace. "What are you doing here you blood traitor, ungrateful hooligan!" she snapped.

"Have you finally come to your senses, boy? If not, you'd better get the hell out of this house." added his father.

"I have a proposition." said Sirius and swallowed the disappointment he felt at his parent's rejection.

"A proposition? You dare …" started Walburga.

"It concerns the Prince family."

"What could you possibly …."

"Not here." said Sirius. Any of his relatives could be listening in on their conversation.

"Stop interrupting your mother!" snapped Orion, before turning to his wife. "Let's get back to the living room, darling. If it turns out to be some dribble I'll throw him out myself."

Walburga huffed. She gave him a good glare before turning to the door.

Sirius let out the breath he didn't know he was holding as he followed his parents to the living room. The simple tea set and plain biscuits his mother preferred, were laid on the coffee table. It was a clear sign that his parents were alone in the house.

"No one from the British wizarding community has set eyes on the Prince family in twenty two years, after that scandal their daughter cooked up." said Walburga.

"I happen to have contact with them."

"And?" asked Orion impatiently.

Sirius could see they were both intrigued. "I'll tell you only if you swear on the Black honor not to share the information with anyone else."

"As if you know what the Black honor means!" snapped Walburga. "You turned your back on this family a long time ago."

"My proposition happens to be beneficial to the Black name." Sirius shot back. "No one knows about the situation with the Prince family … yet."

Orion gave him a calculating look before turning to his wife, whispering something in her ear. Walburga hesitated before turning to him. "We swear. Now, get on with it."

"There's a new Prince Lord and it happens to be my boyfriend."

"A Prince Lord?" exclaimed his parents in union.

"By boyfriend you mean that filthy half-blood? Impossible!" said Walburga

"Old magic has accepted him and so has his family."

"Old magic wouldn't accept a half-blood." insisted his mother.

"Hold on, Walburga." said Orion. "If what you're saying is true then the boy can find the Prince Manor."

"He has. We went there together, last week."

"Is that so? Then why don't you tell me what the Manor looks like?"

Sirius paused a little, he hadn't expected this question. "It has three floors and it's built with gray stones in a meadow. There's a round wooden staircase in the entrance and the Manor has two main wings." he said, trying to describe the building as best as he could.

His parents gasped at that.

"And what is the head of house hold like?"

"I don't know. He's a stuffy old man called Septimius. He has sharp back eyes and a long forehead."

"It's true, then?" Walburga murmured to herself. "Are they willing to pass on the title to this boy peacefully?"

"They are. They actually want to make it happen as soon as possible."

"He has to get married." commented Orion. "That's why you're here."

"Yes." said Sirius, leaning back in his chair. "You see, Severus and I wouldn't really care that much one way or another. Severus is actually reluctant to give in to their demands. They disowned his mother and when they took her back didn't let him see her. Not to mention they never contacted him."

"He's reluctant? Does he know how much power he will have?" asked Walburga.

Sirius nodded in response.

"But … how …" stuttered Walburga, desperation entering her voice.

Orion put a calming hand on her arm. "You said you had a preposition. Tell us what you require from us to make this happen."

"Severus and I will be getting married soon and like I said we don't care if it results in him becoming the Lord or not. If you want to have a part in this marriage and have ties with the Prince Lord, you're going to have to cut off Lord Voldemort completely. You won't be supporting him or his men in any way and you won't be passing on information to him." explained Sirius. He looked at his parents who were suddenly silent before continuing. "This way Regulus can come home."

"Regulus? You know where he is?"

"Yes, I do. He's safe."

"Thank Merlin." whispered Walburga, tears filling her eyes.

"He left because he didn't want to be involved in the war. He'd never be safe in England if you don't stop supporting them."

"You promise he'll come back?" asked his father.

"I can't promise anything. He's been studying and he still has a couple of years left. But if he's safe here, he can come visit. I'm sure he misses you."

"But he's too powerful! We've tried before for Regulus' sake. It didn't work." whined Walburga.

"He's only this powerful because of his allies. If you leave him he'll lose one of his main assets. And when you join forces with the Prince Lord you'd have more power than him."

"We want that in the marriage contract." said Orion.

"No! What we need is a courting session to negotiate. If you want our cooperation you're going to have them invite us to court their heir." announced Walburga, regaining some of her composure. Orion nodded. "And we want to see Regulus."

"Regulus won't come until I can be sure he's safe, but I'll have him write to you." said Sirius firmly.

"Very well." responded his father. He hesitated for a second before continuing. "Perhaps you can stay for dinner." he said hopefully.

"I'm supposed to meet Severus. I'll come another time."

"We'll invite you both after the courting." said Walburga. "Merlin! We have so much to do. We have to work out a contract and go shopping. I'll need to buy presents for them and you'll need new robes, and a ring. You haven't gotten him a ring, have you?" she rambled on, suddenly looking younger.

"No, I haven't. I'll talk to the Princes tomorrow and contact you." said Sirius, getting to his feet.

...

The bar looked exactly the same as it did four years ago. Severus had bitter sweet memories of this place. It still reminded him of his father's death but working here had helped ease his pain. Dan was certainly happy to see him visit. The man had gave him a big hug as he entered and poured him a nice glass of brandy.

Severus sipped his drink as he told Dan all about his fake life, studying chemistry and doing research in a local hospital in Manchester. He was in the middle of telling him about his assistant Remus, who was diabetic, and his girlfriend Lisa, the mathematics student, when Sirius finally came in.

"My friend's here." he told Dan and walked to the door. "How did it go?" he asked Sirius.

"Fine, I guess." answered Sirius with a sigh. "It really sold it when I told them I knew where Regulus was."

Severus recognized the jealousy in the boy's voice. "I'm sorry it didn't go as you wanted."

"It was pretty much what I expected." said Sirius with a shrug. "They want a courting session. The Princes have to invite them over and there's a lot of fussing involved from what I gathered."

"And so it begins." said Severus, raising his glass in salute.

"What are you drinking?" asked Sirius, eyeing the brown liquid.

"Brandy. You want one?"

"Yeah. And maybe we can play pool for a bit."

"Sounds good." said Severus with a smile.


	78. Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Family Meeting

Summary: Severus and Sirius go back to Prince Manor.

Severus felt the warmth of ancient magic wash over him as they approached the Manor. This time the grounds were filled with wild flowers in various colors and the lake seemed to have doubled in size.

In the entrance hall Tilda, the house elf was waiting for them. "Master Severus' family is waiting in the drawing room." announced the elf as they walked in.

"I'm going to go see my mother, first." said Severus, already taking a step in the direction of the west wing.

"Mistress Eileen is with the others." the elf told him with a bow and escorted them to the main drawing room.

The conversation stopped as they entered the room.

"Welcome home." said Alan in greeting.

Severus ignored him as his eyes found his mother, who was sitting awkwardly in a corner. "Hi, mom. How are you feeling?" he asked as he knelt before her.

"I was afraid you wouldn't come back." whispered Eileen miserably and pulled him in a hug.

"I said I would, didn't I?"

"I know." answered Eileen, releasing him. "Go sit next to your grandfather."

"Yes, please." said Alan, already urging Sirius to sit down.

Severus nodded. He kissed his mother on the forehead and gave her hand a squeeze before moving to the center of the room and sitting next to Sirius.

"Before we start, father has something to tell you." Alan told them, looking at Septimius expectedly. The old man open his mouth but closed it again and gave his son a glare. Alan sighed. "We all wanted to apologize for the way things went last week. We were merely excited and nervous and wanted to move things along."

"Yes, we should have taken your feelings into consideration instead of making assumptions." added Noreen, sounding sincere.

Severus glanced at Sirius, who shrugged. "Apology accepted. But from now on I expect you to include us in your decision making, specially when it comes to things that concern myself and Sirius."

"That sounds reasonable. You are to be a Lord, we should learn to treat you like one. Isn't that true father?" said Kathleen this time.

"Yes, it is my responsibility to prepare you for your Lordship after all." admitted Septimius reluctantly. "Now, would you care to tell us how your negotiation with the Black family went?"

"My parents are going to support me." said Sirius. "But I got the feeling that they're expecting you to invite them over for a courting session."

"You mean they demanded an invitation?"

"Essentially, yes."

"The Blacks want to be the ones doing the courting." mused Kathleen. "It's traditionally the role of the more powerful family. Do they know about Severus' status?"

"Yes, they do." said Sirius.

"Are you still their heir?" asked Alan with a frown.

"I don't know. We didn't really talk about that, so I guess not" answered Sirius, shifting uncomfortably under their gaze.

"Then why would they dare ask for such a thing?"

"I … I told my parents they had to stop supporting Lord Voldemort and they asked for this in return."

"So, the rumors were true." Septimius murmured to himself. "Had we known …"

"Sirius did exactly what you asked him to!" snapped Severus. "Like he said, they're going to cut off the dark Lord. Since there's no real evidence of their involvement, it would be like it never happened. Does it really matter who gets to do the bloody courting?"

"Don't take that tone with me, young Lord." said Septimius calmly and turned to his children. "What do you think we should do?"

Eileen turned her head away and started playing with her skirt, while the others seemed to be considering the question.

"It is outrageous of them of course to request this …" started Alan. "But it has its advantages. It means we'll be in charge of proposing the marriage contract."

"Still, we'll be allowing them to enter the negotiations from the position of power." commented Noreen.

"Not necessarily. Severus is the future Lord, that's the real leverage. They must be eager to make this marriage happen if they're letting their disowned son back into the family and even changing sides in the war." said Kathleen.

Septimius nodded thoughtfully. "It will only give them advantage over us if we let it. We'll invite them to come in ten days. That would give us time to work on the contract and make preparations. Would that be acceptable to you, young man?"

"Yes, that's fine but Sirius and I want one of our friends to work with you on the contract. Her name's Lisa March. She's not a lawyer but she's been working for the ministry for a while and knows a great deal about legal contracts."

"It IS customary for the parties involved to have representatives in a negotiation." commented Kathleen.

"Very well. March is a respectful name and if someone as distrustful as you finds her competent enough, then she must be." said Septimius. "Anything else?"

"What exactly is going to happen during this courting?" asked Severus. He would have asked Sirius but the boy was a little depressed after his family reunion the day before and Severus had been doing his best to distract him.

Septimius smirked a little. "You're going to have to make yourself look desirable for the courting to get their attention. That's one of perks of letting the other party do the courting."

"What else?" asked Severus, scowling.

"The courting could take between a couple of days to a month. You, Severus can't leave the Manor for the duration and the two of you will have to stay in separate rooms."

Severus rubbed at his temples. "There's no saying how long it will take? I'm in the middle of a research." he said with a sigh.

"For our part, we want things to progress as quickly as possible and I don't expect the Blacks to make it drag for too long. It takes longer when the couple are young and don't know each other well which in your case isn't an issue but you have to consider the possibility." explained Alan.

"It will be alright." reassured Sirius, taking his hand in his own. "I'm sure you can do your brewing here and there's an extended library in the Manor. You can even ask my parents for books from the Black library, they're supposed to get you any gift you ask for."

"That's true. We have a well-equipped lab in the basement and we'll help you make arrangements." added Noreen.

"I suppose I can make it work." said Severus at last, knowing he would regret it.

"Now that it's all settled, let's move to the dinning room, shall we?" asked Septimius, getting to his feet. The others rose as well.

Severus went over to where his mother was sitting. "You want me to eat with you in your room?" he asked.

"Don't be silly. You're going to be a Lord, you have to eat at the table." answered Eileen with a smile.

"You should come with me, then."

"No, I'm not part of the family anymore. The others always ask me to eat with them but it makes me uncomfortable."

"You're my mother. You are part of this family as much as I am." said Severus, holding a hand to her.

Eileen hesitated before taking his hand and pushing herself out of her chair.

Kathleen rushed forward and took her sister's other hand, supporting her. "You're dinning with us, Lee? That's great news!" she exclaimed, beaming. "You go on a head, Severus. We old gals will be right behind you."

Severus nodded and walked out with Sirius. He smiled when he saw his cousins waving at him from the dinning table. They spent the whole dinner chattering excitedly about ordering new robes and the feast they would have to prepare for the Blacks.


	79. Chapter 79

Chapter 79: The Courting

Summary: The families make preparations and the courting starts.

Severus smiled in satisfaction as he took notes. The Prince family library had provided him with a few useful books and things were finally starting to make sense. He had been working hard, knowing he won't have much time to himself once the courting started. Remus and Andrew had been helping, one with the material on muggle medicine and the other with wizarding methods of healing.

His family had demanded his presence that morning, though. Sirius was with his own family as well. Severus was a little worried about him. He was hoping with time the scars of Sirius' childhood would heal but his parents could very well add to it.

"Severus?" called someone from the door. "The stylist is here."

Severus groaned and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Alright." he grumbled and marked the page he was reading before opening the door. Daniel, Alexander, Alfie and his husband Michael came into his small leaving room along with a few other people he didn't recognize.

"I am the family stylist, Louis and these are my assistants Adalene and Sage." introduced a plump man with a French accent. "Let's get to work! If you would take off your robes and step closer, Monsieur." he added cheerfully, gesturing to a space in front of him.

Severus took off his robes with a sigh and stepped forward. The tailor give him a once over, then started circling him with a thoughtful expression.

"Svelte." murmured the man to himself. "Perhaps something to accentuate the waist?"

"I don't want anything too tight." said Severus, blushing.

"No need to be shy, dear. I promise it will be tasteful." said one of the assistants as she started to take his measurements.

"We service the most Noble houses, of course it will be tasteful!" snapped Louis with a sniff, obviously insulted. "Now, what colors does Monsieur prefer?"

"I like black." said Severus. "Dark green, dark blue and gray." he continued as the others kept looking at his with raised brows.

"For Merlin's sake, Severus! It's for a courting not a funeral." said Daniel.

"Grandfather will have a fit if you wear anything that gloomy." added Alfie, smirking to his husband.

Severus groaned again. "Fine, but I won't wear red … or pink."

"I suppose that would rule out maroon and fiusa as well. Pity, they'd all go wonderfully with your skin." murmured Louis to himself. "I'm almost hesitant to ask … How about embroidery?"

"I don't like floral patterns or anything like that."

"Big surprise there." said Daniel.

"How about your animal totem?" suggested Alexander. "Do you happen to know what it is?"

"Panther." answered Severus with a smile.

"Idéal!" exclaimed Louis, clapping his hands gleefully. "We finally have something to work with. I understand your taste now, Monsieur. Your robes will be elegant and majestic! I'll guarantee they will impress your suitors."

"Thank you." said Severus. "Are we done, now?" he asked hopefully.

"With your robes, yes we are done for now." answered Louis, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "It's time we start working on your hair."

…

Sirius waited in the motel room for his parents. Regulus had invited them to Italy to do their shopping. It made the more sense, it wouldn't do for him to risk going in public with his parents, buying courtship gifts. The least the British wizarding community knew about their affairs the safer it would be for all of them.

At precisely eleven forty five, his parents arrived and they wasted little time in portkeying to Italy.

Walburga pulled Regulus in a bear hug as soon as they landed in Rome. "Regulus, darling! I've missed you so much." she whined.

"I've missed you, too." answered Regulus and pulled back to hug his father.

"We can't wait to have you home with us, son." said Orion.

Regulus nodded and turned to Sirius. "Congratulations, Sirius. I'm really happy for you."

"Oh, yes. We are all very excited about the courting." commented Walburga. "Where shall we start?"

"There's this place I usually go to, it has great pasta. I thought we could have lunch there." said Regulus, guiding them to a small restaurant at the side of the road.

"You eat here?" asked Walburga with an expression close to horror as they sat around one of the wooden tables.

"On special occasions. I haven't exactly had that much spending money. As it is, Sirius has spent most of the money uncle Alphard left him on my tuition." admitted Regulus.

"You did that for your brother?" asked Walburga in shock as she turned to Sirius.

"Why wouldn't I?! It was his money, too." snapped Sirius.

Walburga smiled brightly at him, for the first time in years and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, dear. I should have known you'd take care of your little brother."

"Just like when you were kids." added Orion with pride. "So, what should we order?"

"I usually get spaghetti with tomato sauce. I haven't tried anything else."

"That sounds delicious. We'll order four." said Walburga. She was in an oddly good mood. It made Sirius wonder if she had had firewiskey for breakfast.

"I've arranged for us to visit a tailor this evening. She's supposed to be one of the finest in Europe." said Regulus, after ordering for them. "As for the ring, I have a place in mind in Florence. You can choose the stone and the style and they put it together for you. We'd better leave that for tomorrow." he explained.

"Are you listening to your brother, Sirius?"

"Yeah, … I was just thinking about Severus. He would have liked it here. He loves sunny days like this."

"You have to bring him for your honeymoon, then. We'll pay for your visit as your wedding present." proposed Walburga.

"That would be nice." said Sirius, grinning.

"Speaking of gifts, do you have any thoughts on what we should get for the Princes?" asked Orion.

"Septimuis would probably like something classic. I don't think the others would mind anything you get for them." answered Sirius, frowning in thought. "You should get something nice for Severus' mother, though like a piece of jewelry. He'd like that."

"What about Severus, himself? What would he like most?"

"Books." said Sirius and Regulus in union.

Walburga made a face. "Potion books?" she asked with a sniff.

"He's been researching about mind healing, lately. Perhaps you could loan him some books from the Black library."

"We'll get him the books, but we'd still need something appropriate for the courting."

"I'm sure you'll find something, mother." said Regulus, patting Walburga's hand reassuringly.

…

"Oh, Severus you look …" said Lisa, when he was finally allowed to leave his room.

"Ridiculous?" supplied Severus.

"No! I meant to say, well, pretty."

"Stop fussing with your robes!" snapped Daniel, slapping his hands away as he started to play with the edge of his robes. "And don't frown like that. You look nice."

"Yes, nice. That's what I meant to say." said Lisa. "I'm not a fan of green robes myself but the bright color suits you and the fabric is beautiful."

"Did you notice the panther at his back?" asked Sofia, Alexander's wife.

"Turn around Severus, let me see."

"Fine." grumbled Severus and turned to show off the golden panther stitched at the back, it was the only part of his outfit he really liked.

"They're here!" announced Kyle, who was sitting by the window. "Who's that guy? The one that looks like Sirius?" he asked curiously.

"It must be Regulus, Sirius' brother. I didn't know he was coming." said Severus, resisting the urge to stick his head next to Kyle and look out.

"Wow! He's handsome. Is he gay or straight?"

"Straight, as far as I know."

"You hear that Kayla? You'd sit next to him at dinner if you're lucky."

"Shut up, Kyle!" Kayla snapped at his brother, blushing.

"You two, quit it." scowled Daniel. "You'd better go Severus, shouldn't keep them waiting … and try to smile."

"Right." murmured Severus and rushed to living room.

The Blacks had just sat down when he entered.

"This must be Severus. Come closer, dear." said Walburga and gave him an apprising look. "Doesn't he look lovely, Sirius?" she asked, beaming.

"Yes, he does." answered Sirius, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thank you." said Severus shyly and sat next to his mother. He was grateful when Septimius started talking, taking the attention away from him.

"Severus? Why don't you show Sirius the flower beds? They're really beautiful this year." suggested Kathleen after a few minutes.

"Sure." said Severus with a smile, glad to have an excuse to be alone with Sirius.

"You really do look lovely. You should wear bright colors more often." commented Sirius as they exited the room.

"I do have like twenty other new outfits like this so I imagine I'd be wearing a new one each day." said Severus, repressing a groan. "They've even got me quidditch gear. We'll go flying tomorrow with the cousins."

Sirius grinned and leaned forward for a kiss.

Severus kissed him back, but pulled back reluctantly. "We'd better not. The flower beds are right in front of the living room windows. It's the whole point, you know. This way they can keep an eye on us."

"Can we at least hold hands?" asked Sirius with a sigh.

"I guess." answered Severus and took Sirius' hand, guiding him outside. "You look great, too. I really like your robes, they bring out your eyes." he said.

"I can't wait to show you the ring. I had it custom made." said Sirius, excitedly. "Aside from the no kissing rule, I'm starting to like this courtship business."

"You had fun with your parents, then?"

"It went better than I could imagine." admitted Sirius. He raised his hand and ran his fingers over the small braids in Severus' hair. "How about you? You looked a little uncomfortable earlier."

"It was OK. I'm just not used to getting my hair done and wearing fancy clothes."

"You'll get used to it." said Sirius with a grin and kissed him lightly on the cheek.


	80. Chapter 80

Chapter 80: The Ring

Summary: Severus and Sirius make their engagement official.

"I recognize most of the runes." said Regulus as he studied the symbols Severus had drawn. "But when they're used together like this, it gets a bit complicated. They could create some unanticipated results."

"I see. Do you think you can interpret it?"

"It might take a while but yes." answered Regulus. "Is that all you need? To interpret the runes?"

"More or less." said Severus with a sigh, he lifted his hand to run it through his hair but stopped mid motion. Today he was wearing his hair in a simple ponytail since they were supposed to go flying. "That's the final step. I already know how the ceremony works and the spells that are used, all I need for reversing the mark is the right runes."

"I don't mean to discourage you, Severus but the mark is supposed to be permanent, something that can't be tempered with. From what I've heard the dark Lord is very proud of it."

"That just proves he doesn't know everything about the ceremony. This type of bonds come from wizarding tribes in Africa, they bind not only a person's magic but his body to the leader. The main purpose is to unite the members of the tribe and it can be reversed if that person is deemed unworthy of the honor. The magic has found its way to Europe over the years and has transformed somewhat. That is the version the dark Lord is using and it seems he doesn't know the origins." lectured Severus. "Slughorn once told me that the man is too arrogant to consider the possibility that he might be wrong or not competent enough to attempt something. I think he was right."

Regulus watched his friend in awe. "How did you find out all of that?" he asked, leaning forward curiously.

"It was on my mind at school and Sirius helped me do research while we were in Germany. We found some information there and contacted a couple of universities in Egypt and South Africa to learn more. The memory Evan gave me proved my suspicions and provided the rest of the details."

"You've been at it for two years, then." mused Regulus, not really surprised. Severus wasn't someone who could let go when he had set his mind on something. "And when you find out how to reverse it … What are you going to do with the knowledge?"

"I'm still not sure how to go about it but I want to help people who are looking for a way out."

"People like Evan." said Regulus knowingly. "I know you have good intentions, Sev. I would have probably ended up like him if it wasn't for you but you're playing with fire. It's better if you don't get involved."

"I'm already involved. I've had a target on my back since sixth year. They'll come after me sooner or later, or worse they'll get to Sirius. It's one of the reason I'm going along with all of this to claim my Lordship. I want the war to be over." explained Severus. "I'm going to have to get changed. We're expected on the grounds in fifteen minutes." he add and walked to his bedroom.

Regulus remained in the small sitting area and stared at the high ceiling.

"How much longer do you think the courting might take?" asked Severus from the other room.

"It depends on how the negotiations go today. From what I know, my parents want this marriage to happen as soon as possible." answered Regulus distractedly.

"That's good. I can't wait to go back to work, with all the new information I've got."

"The books my parents gave you were useful, then?"

"Very useful." said Severus, stepping out of his room. He was wearing purple robes with lavender lining. "Do you have any idea how to fasten these?" he asked, holding up his knee caps.

Regulus chuckled. "Yeah, go sit on the bed." he ordered as he took them, admiring the golden panther printed on the leather. "I've been meaning to ask, do you think Kayla likes me? I mean, she sits next to me at meals but she never talks to me."

"She's the only single girl here and she's a little shy. They make her sit next to you to tease her."

"Oh." said Regulus, a little disappointed. "So she doesn't like me?"

"I didn't say that."

"So, she does like me?"

Severus sighed. "I don't know, Reg. I don't exactly know much about girls." he said with a little smirk.

"I guess not, but you know her better than I do." Regulus tried again.

"One thing I know for sure, this family's really traditional. So if you're not serious about her you shouldn't start anything."

"Right." said Regulus, he had gathered as much. "That decides it, I guess. I'm not thinking about settling down any time soon."

"You can try to be friends. You're both the same age and I think she's interested in runes."

"Maybe." murmured Regulus. "There, all done." he said as he handed Severus his gloves.

…

Severus sighed as he stepped out the Manor's front door. The others were waiting by the stairs and they were all wearing black or brown robes which meant he stood out like a sore thumb.

"Wow, those look great on you." said Sirius with a grin. "I'm really looking forward to this. We haven't flown together in a while."

"Yeah, I know. But try to take it easy, alright? You shouldn't put too much pressure on your leg."

"I won't." promised Sirius, straddling his broom.

"Good, now that everyone's here let's get started." said Alexander. "What post do you guys usually play?" he asked, turning to them.

"I was beater at school and Reg plays chaser." answered Sirius.

"What about you Severus?"

"I've never played. I'll just take whatever post is left." he said with a shrug.

"Alright. There's sixteen of us, so we'll play in two teams of eight. Sirius and I will be captains and I get to pick first since I'm older."

"Fine." said Sirius, already sizing up the players.

"I pick Severus."

"Hey! You can't pick him." snapped Sirius.

"Sure I can."

"No, pick someone else."

"I don't understand why you two are fighting over me. I don't even know how to play." commented Severus.

"I want you as human shield." said Alexander "Now, get over here."

Severus flew behind his cousin and watched him and Sirius bickered some more as they picked their teammates. Alexander had him play chaser, well not so much play as escort the other chasers on their team as they played. Still, it was fun and made their team win the game. After that, they had tea on the patio and flew some more until it got dark.

"How's your leg?" whispered Severus to his fiancé as they walked inside.

"It's a bit sore." admitted Sirius, taking his hand.

"Ah, good. You're here." called Alan from the other end of the corridor. "Tell everyone to come to the living room."

"But … we have to get changed." protested Severus, his robes were soaked with sweat and mud.

"Use a spell." said Alan over his shoulder as he walked back into the living room.

They all performed a few cleaning spells on their cloths before following him and joining the occupants of the rooms, which all had satisfied smiles on their faces.

"We thought this was the perfect time to officially announce our interest in pursuing Severus for our son." started Orion. "First, we would like to thank you for your hospitality and offer you some gifts." he continued pleasantly. With a wave of his hand, a pile of presents appeared on the table in front of them.

"We accept your gifts and feel honored that you've chosen to court someone from this family." said Septimius graciously. He picked up the gift on top, which was labeled with his name and gestured for them to do the same.

Severus smiled as he saw a wrapped box addressed to his mother. He picked it up, since she didn't seem to be paying attention, and walked to where she was sitting. "Mom, don't you want to open your gift?" he asked, getting her to finally look up.

"I …" said Eileen nervously, looking at her family. Septimius was holding a handsome looking chess set and her siblings were admiring their summer cloaks.

Severus put the box in her hands. "Come on, mom. I want to know what's inside." he insisted.

Eileen nodded and tore the wrapping gingerly before opening the box. A silver bracelet sat on velvet, with small emeralds shining on it.

"Isn't it beautiful?" asked Severus when his mother didn't say anything. "Let me put it on for you." he offered taking the bracelet out of its case.

Eileen nodded again and held out her aged hand. Severus put the silver bracelet around it and fastened the leach carefully.

"Is it to your liking?" asked Walburga, who had been watching their interaction.

Eileen glanced at Severus before turning to her. "Yes, it's a very generous gift. Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear." said Walburga with sweetness that didn't fit her personality. "You should open your own gift, Severus." she added, turning to him.

Severus smiled back before picking up the large parcel. It was the only present remaining, his cousins and Lisa were all holding similar boxes of sweet and chocolate.

The parcel was filled with expensive looking fabrics in various colors. Severus wasn't crazy about the idea of tailoring more robes, but there was a navy blue silk in there that looked really nice. "Thank you. They're all very lovely." he said politely.

Walburga sent another sweet smile his way before gesturing to Sirius. The boy stepped forward with a huge grin on his face and put a small jewelry box in his hands.

"I want you to have this ring as the symbol of my commitment." he said, watching him with anticipation.

Inside the box, Severus found a thick platinum ring with a small radiant sapphire on it. It was simple and subtle and absolutely perfect. Sirius took the ring and put it ring on his finger before kissing him. "I love you." he whispered, holding him close.

"I love you, too. And I love the ring. I never want to take it off." said Severus. He held on to his fiancé a little longer despite the look Septimius was giving them. How he wished he could take Sirius to his room that night.


	81. Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Planning the Wedding

Summary: The courting is over and they're making preparations for the wedding.

Severus sighed happily as he entered his lab. After five days of courting, he was allowed to leave the Manor and he was aching to get some work down. Remus had gone back to school for the new semester, which meant he didn't have a full time assistant anymore and had to do most of the work himself. At least this time he only had three patients to monitor. The nerve damage potion didn't require farther work and he could concentrate on mind healing.

He started by unpacking and cataloging the new ingredients he had ordered and then set up to brew the first batch of experimental potion. His plan was to focus on increasing brain activity. Mind healing itself was too complicated and it would take years of research to improve the methods of healing brain tissue, but if he could create a potion to affect brain activity, his patients could get some of their abilities back. He had gotten the idea from muggle medicine. It was a new concept but he was positive he could get results from using ingredients that were known for their effect on the brain.

By mid afternoon, Severus had brewed five potions and was about to retire for the day. He still had to visit the Manor every evening to help with the wedding preparations. He was cleaning his work station when he heard someone knock.

"Come in." he called without looking up from his work.

"Severus." said a familiar voice. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Severus stiffened and raised his head slowly, watching Lucius Malfoy enter his lab. "Why are you here?" he asked, closing his hand around his wand.

"Don't worry. I'm just here to talk." answered Lucius. "Charming little lab you have here. Isn't the lab at the Manor satisfactory?"

Severus didn't say anything and just stared at the other man.

Lucius chuckled. "You should have known I would put two and two together. I was the one to suggest the possibility in the first place, was I not? And don't forget I'm married to a Black."

"Who else knows?"

"As far as I can tell, no one. But they'll figure it out. The wards around Prince Manor are legendary, when people find out you, a half-blood, are living there they'll come to the same conclusion I have."

"Yes, I imagine they would." agreed Severus. He placed the ingredients in the cupboards and picked up a cloth to wipe his table. "You said you wanted to talk." he said.

Lucius gave him a searching look before speaking. "I was pleasantly surprised to learn you were going through with this. It was a wise move to get the Blacks on your side, but you must realize you're going to need more support than that. A claim like yours is a serious threat to the dark Lord. I have no doubt that he'll come after you."

"Why are you telling me this? You work for him. Don't you want him to triumph?" asked Severus. He already suspected the answer, but he needed to hear it from Lucius himself.

"When I joined him I didn't know about your claim. I guess I should have suspected, I always knew you were special." said the blond man with a faraway look on his face. "He was a powerful wizard with nothing to lose. My father and his comrades chose him to fight their battles for them and fed his ego and arrogance. They had underestimated him. Now, he rules the purebloods. We are his servants and he's crushing us. He doesn't care about magic or the wizarding community, he's just looking for more power. Things will change with you in the mix. Many of the purebloods will side with you."

"I'm not what they want. I don't agree with their views about muggles and muggle-borns."

"No?" asked Lucius with a raised eyebrow. "What are you after, then?"

"Peace." answered Severus simply. "Do you care for some coffee? I have some in my office."

"Yes, thank you." murmured Lucius following him to the small office. None of them talked as Severus prepared the coffee.

"I imagine you've already worked out some strategy." said Severus, sitting behind his desk.

"If you want my advice, you'd better use your wedding to get the purebloods' attention. You should invite as many of them as possible."

"Don't take this the wrong way Lucius, but how do I know I can trust your advice? How do I know this wouldn't turn the wedding into an opportunity for an ambush?"

"What can I do to gain your trust? A vow perhaps?" asked Lucius.

"You'd take a vow so that you can be able to help me?"

"You've saved my son's life. I owe you." said Lucius earnestly.

Severus considered this for a few minutes. "No." he said.

"I beg your pardon?!" snapped Lucius.

"I said no. I don't want obligation. I want loyalty." he said firmly.

Lucius shot out of his chair and started pacing. "My loyalty has a price." he said, finally. "I want my family to be safe no matter what happens to me."

"What exactly are you asking me?"

"I want you to take in Narcissa and Draco and swear to guard them with your life."

"You'd send them to the Manor?" asked Severus, not believing his ears.

"The Prince Manor is the safest place I know. I'll have them stay after the wedding, assuming we're invited. I'll tell the dark Lord they have fled."

"I … I'll do all I can to protect them and they're welcome in my home, but you must realize it's not entirely up to me."

"It will be once you're the Lord." said Lucius.

…

Severus got to the Prince Manor an hour late. He had planned to have some time alone with Sirius before their family meeting. He found his fiancé waiting in their room, nursing a drink.

"There you are!" exclaimed the boy. "I was getting worried."

"Is that why you're drinking? You shouldn't let that become a habit." he scowled, taking the glass of firewhisky out of Sirius' hand and giving him a kiss.

"Where were you?" asked Sirius, pulling away.

"St. Mungo's. I was just about to leave when Lucius showed up."

"Lucius Malfoy? What did he want?"

"He heard about our wedding and knew I must be the Prince Lord."

"Oh." said Sirius, frowning.

"He doesn't trust the dark Lord and he wants me to take in his wife and son in exchange for his loyalty."

"Things must be pretty bad then."

"Yes, he says the purebloods are not happy with the way Voldemort is treating them and they might take our side when word about my Lordship gets out." explained Severus. "What do you think?"

"You know I don't trust these people as far as I can throw them, specially Malfoy. But if he's putting his family in your care, I don't think he'd betray you."

"I suppose not." said Severus. "Do you think we should invite the purebloods to our wedding?"

"I don't know. I say we let the elders invite them, they would whether we like it or not. I'm sure they'll invite Malfoy anyways." answered Sirius and pulled him closer. "We have exactly twenty minutes before the family meeting, you know."

"Yeah, I've noticed." said Severus. "We'll talk later." he added in a seductive tone before kissing his fiancé breathless.

They snuggled on the couch like school children for fifteen minutes, but had to stop to freshen up before the meeting and managed to get to the drawing room on time. The two families were supposed to start planning the wedding and for the first time Severus and Sirius were included in the negotiation. They had had Lisa oversee the contract but for the most they had been sent away when anything serious was to be discussed.

"I suggest we hold the wedding in a fortnight." proposed Septimius, starting the meeting. "And it would be best if we hold it at Prince Manor. Not only we have more space, but it's much more secure."

"Yes, that's acceptable." said Orion.

"As for the guest list, we would like to invite our extended family from France."

"And we insist that the British noble wizarding families be included." added Walburga.

Septimius paused. "We have no reservations about that as long as it doesn't jeopardize our safety. Perhaps you could prepare a list and we can discuss it farther."

"Very well." agreed Walburga.

"What about you boys?" asked Septimius, turning to them. "Anyone you'd like to add to the list?"

"There are a few of our friends and people from Hogwarts, the university of modern magic in Germany and St. Mungo's." answered Sirius.

"Write down a list of your friends and we'd better invite all the department heads from St. Mungo's and the entire staff from Hogwarts and your university."

"Including Dumbledore?" asked Severus.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"I could do without him at my wedding but if you think you it's necessary …"

"I'm afraid it is. We can't include the Hogwarts staff without inviting the Headmaster." said Septimius sternly.

"I agree. We're not fans of this Headmaster either but we must invite him." commented Orion.

"One more thing." said Severus, bracing himself. "There's a couple I want to invite. They mean a great deal to me but I know you wouldn't want them here."

"How so?" asked Walburga.

"They're muggles."

"Muggles? Is this a joke?! You'd think we want some filthy, disgusting …"

"It's non-negotiable. They're the closest thing I've ever had to a family and I want them at my wedding."

"I should have known a half-breed …"

"Don't you dare talk to my son like that!" snapped Eileen, her black eyes flashing with anger. Everyone turned to her in shock.

"I apologize. We meant no disrespect. You must realize …" said Orion after a few minutes of silence.

"Your apology's no good. My son's to be the highest Lord in this country. I won't have you treat him this way!"

"My daughter's right. Severus is chosen by magic and there's no question of his worth. If you can't accept his blood status, let us know right now so that we can consider other suitors."

"I … we …" stuttered Walburga. She closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself before speaking again. "Of course. I was merely referring to the muggles."

"But if they're important to you, young Lord. You shall invite them." added Orion, hastily.

"Yes, they are important to me. I don't expect you to like them, I'm only asking you to respect them." said Severus, trying hard to hold in a smile. It was the first time his mother had spoken up like this.

"Yes, that's … reasonable."

"We'll respect them as well." said Septimius. "But the fact remains that the wards won't allow muggles to enter the Manor."

"How about we hold the ceremony on the grounds and the reception inside. This way they can attend the ceremony." suggested Noreen.

"Yes, that's doable." agreed Septimius. "We'll confirm the guest list tonight and send out the invitations tomorrow morning. That would leave out the formal documents, and you two need to put your names in for conception."

Severus stiffened. He didn't think he could get out of this one. Purebloods were all about producing heirs and keeping the family name alive.

To his surprise, Sirius spoke up. "Don't you think it's too soon for that?" he asked.

Septimius turned to him sharply. "You need to put your name on the list immediately. The potion you require calls for rare ingredients. It took my grandson Alfie and his husband two years to get to the top of the list."

"I don't see why we can't wait for a while. We'll have plenty of time for having children." insisted Sirius.

"No, dear, it's better this way. But perhaps it can wait until after the honeymoon." said Walburga.

"Very well." agreed Septimius, reluctantly. "Now, let's move to the Lordship ceremony. We have been making preparations and it can be held the day after the wedding. There needs to be representatives from two noble British houses as witness and we would be honored if you accept to represent the Black family."

"But of course!" exclaimed Walburga, her good mood returning. "Who else are you planning to invite, if you don't mind me asking."

"To be honest, we're not certain. It would be better if we don't let word out about our new Lord until the time is right for him to claim his seats at wizengamot and we'll need someone we can trust to keep quiet. Do you have any ideas, Madam?"

"Not really. Most of the families we know are involved with the dark Lord." said Walburga, thoughtfully.

"How about the Potters, or the Longbottoms?" asked Sirius.

"They won't tell the dark Lord, but they might tell Dumbledore." said Severus. "I think we should ask Lucius Malfoy. I know for a fact that he already suspects and I think I can get him to swear to keep it a secret, he owes me a favor."

"That could work. It wouldn't hurt to have the Malfoys' support." commented Septimius.

"Yes, he's married to our niece and he wouldn't betray the family." said Orion.

"It's settled, then. Let's move to the dining room for dinner." announced Septimius.

"We're really getting married." Severus whispered to his fiancé.

"Can't wait."


	82. Chapter 82

Chapter 82: The Wedding Ceremony

Summary: Severus and Sirius get married.

Severus curled his lips as he murmured the ridiculous password and waited impatiently for the gargoyle to take him to the Headmaster's office.

Dumbledore looked up from his paperwork as he entered the room. "Ah, Severus. Punctual as always I see." he said in his usual sweet tone, but Severus could detect a hint of annoyance behind it.

"Headmaster." greeted Severus shortly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Would you care for a lemon drop? Or better yet, some tea?"

"I didn't drop by for refreshments, Headmaster." sneered Severus. "I want to know what happened last night."

"I explained all I knew at the staff meeting this morning, my boy. I understand you'd like to learn more about the chamber but I suggest you leave this one alone. It's better for everyone if the chamber stays closed."

Severus narrowed his eyes in irritation. "So, it's Ok for your golden boy to go snooping about and put his life and others in danger but I have no right to ..."

"I won't hear any more on this. The chamber will remain closed." said Dumbledore firmly.

"And the diary?" asked Severus through gritted teeth.

"You can rest assured that it has been destroyed."

"What of the remains?"

"I don't have it anymore. I believe it was returned to where it had come from."

"Stop talking in riddles!" snapped Severus. "You either trust me or you don't. I'm not like your other teachers. I need to know what is going on."

"I'll tell you what I can." said Dumbledore after a long pause. "Take a seat." he added, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

Severus sat down stiffly and crossed his arms again, staring at the man expectedly.

"The diary contained memories of Lord Voldemort's school days. It was apparently in possession of Lucius Malfoy. Harry believes Malfoy had slipped the diary into Mrs. Weasley's school books. Lord Voldemort enchanted the girl to make her open the chamber and … was planning to steal her life force. Harry put a basilisk fang through the notebook and destroyed it and the memory along with it." explained the old man casually, as if discussing the weather.

Severus frowned, trying to ignore the faint burning sensation in his left arm at the mention of the dark Lord's name. He had never heard of an artifact that could contain memories, at least not in this fashion. He needed to examine that diary. Even though Dumbledore seemed convinced that it had been destroyed, he was certain he could still find traces of the magic and possibly identify it. "What exactly did you do with the remains?"

"If you must know, Harry asked me if he could have it and I …"

"Potter?! You gave it to Potter?!" bellowed Severus, shutting to his feet. It was all he could do not to curse the man.

"Yes, I did and like I said it was returned to where it had come from. Harry gave it to Mr. Malfoy and ended up freeing his elf. It is quite an interesting story …"

"I've heard enough!" snapped Severus, cutting the man off again. He stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

…

Severus woke up with a start. He sat up in bed and looked around in confusion. He didn't recognize the room or any of the fancy furniture.

"Sev?" whispered someone.

Severus tensed. He must have been drinking the night before, ending up in a stranger's bed like this. He turned his head slowly to see who it was and jumped out of the bed at the site of Sirius Black.

"Severus? What's wrong?" asked Black, rubbing at his eyes. He didn't look a day over twenty five.

"I ... you … What are you …" stuttered Severus. He looked around the room again. The walls were made of gray stones but they looked different from Hogwarts'. They were warm and inviting. "Prince Manor." he murmured to himself and closed his eyes as the ancient magic washed over him in waves.

"Severus? You're scaring me." said Black, all traces of grogginess disappearing.

Severus could see the worry in the boy's blue gray eyes. He loved those eyes and he loved his fiancé. "We're getting married, today." he said uncertainly.

"Are you having second thoughts?" asked Sirius. There was hurt in his eyes.

"What? … No, I'm just … I feel disoriented." answered Severus. He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to make sense of what had happened. "I was dreaming. I was somewhere else and … older."

"A vision?"

"It must have been, I guess. I was at Hogwarts, talking to Dumbledore. I think … we were talking about a horcrux. It was the dark Lord's diary and Lucius had it."

"A horcrux?" breathed Sirius. "Do you think he has it, now?"

"I don't know. I could ask him." said Severus. He started to rewind the vision in his head. He could still feel the resentment and bitterness that had consumed him. Suddenly cold, Severus got back under the covers and scooted closer to Sirius.

"You didn't know where you were when you woke up." commented Sirius, wrapping his arms around him.

"No, I didn't. It was too real. I think I was a teacher at Hogwarts and Potter's son was one of my students."

"Does that mean you'll end up teaching at the school?"

"No, I don't think it works that way. The important part was the diary, the rest … won't happen like that. I changed things when I didn't join the Death Eaters." explained Severus. He had felt the dark mark burning a bit and he was certain he wasn't married to Sirius in the vision.

"I suppose you would know." said Sirius thoughtfully. "Try to get some sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us." he added with a yawn.

"You're right." murmured Severus. He did try to go back to sleep but he had too much on his mind to relax. He laid awake and stared at Sirius' sleeping form thinking about the vision and the person he was in it; lonely, bitter and hurt.

He regretted that when the sun came up. They had a tight schedule that day. It started with having breakfast with the distant Prince relatives who had just arrived from France and were all eager to meet their new Lord and his husband to be. After that, they had to practice for the ceremony one last time and they were supposed to start getting ready for the wedding right after lunch.

…

Severus stood in front of the mirror, waiting for his cue to go outside. He had chosen the navy blue silk the Blacks had given him for his robes and he was wearing his hair parted on the side. All in all, he was happy with his look but he couldn't help but feel a little insecure.

"Nervous?" asked Regulus.

Severus realized he had been playing with the engagement ring on his figure. He sighed and turned around to face his best man. "They're all going to be staring at me, aren't they?"

"The guests? I expect they will, considering you're the groom." said Regulus. "Don't worry. Half of them will be looking at Sirius and I imagine your relatives will attract some attention. No one in England has seen the Prince clan in over twenty years."

"Right." murmured Severus. "But what if I make a fool of myself in front of all those people? What if I stumble or …"

"It's going to be alright. I'll be right there with you and I'm going to make sure nothing like that happens." reassured Regulus. "This is your wedding. Don't let bad memories ruin it." he added knowingly.

Severus nodded. He took a deep breath and braced himself before following Regulus outside. It was a lovely evening. The sun was setting and there was a pleasant breeze. The chairs were set up beside the flower beds, facing the sunset. Everything was decorated with silver and gold ribbons and the arch was made out of two large oak trees bending towards one another. Severus tried to focus on his family and friends among the guests and ignored the photographer as they stood under the arch. He felt his tension melting as Sirius and Remus joined them. Sirius was wearing black robes with silver trimmings and he had his hair pulled back from his face. It made him look even more handsome than usual.

As the ceremony started, Severus had a wide smile form on his face. He felt his heart fill with joy as they said their vows and exchanged rings. They sealed their bond with a sweet kiss and held on to each other as the guests applauded. Severus knew he'd never end up like the man he had seen in his vision as long as he had Sirius.


	83. Chapter 83

Chapter 83: New Beginings

Summary: Severus and Sirius' wedding reception.

Severus gave Mr. and Mrs. Johnson a hug before going inside with Sirius to get ready for the reception. Lily had promised to make sure they got home safe. She couldn't attend the reception herself, since she was a muggle-born and couldn't get pass the wards.

"Can you believe we're finally married?" asked Sirius as they entered the ballroom. The place looked lovely with the sophisticated silver and gold decorations and the wild flowers on the tables.

"I know, it's surreal." acknowledge Severus. "We're Severus and Sirius Prince now, or we will be tomorrow after the ceremony."

"I can't wait. I never liked being a Black."

"I never liked being a Snape, either." said Severus with a small smile and gave him a kiss.

"You want to practice our dance one more time?" asked Sirius with a grin.

Severus nodded and stepped forward. He didn't really feel like dancing but he could use the distraction. They were almost through with their routine when the doors opened and their guests started to fill the room, soon the vast space was packed with purebloods in their fine robes and Severus couldn't help but feel a little out of place.

"We should go greet them." whispered Sirius, holding out his arm.

Severus swallowed his nervousness and linked arms with his husband. They started with the right corner of the room, where the Prince family were seated, and worked their way to the center. Severus knew most of the families through his school friends. Some of them were friendly like the Longbottoms and the Parkinsons and others looked at them with suspicion. They all seemed curious and asked about their plans for their families and their political standing. Sirius did most of the talking, dodging their questions. They were not supposed to give away their hand too soon. They had had a family meeting about this and had decided to test the waters and see people's reaction before making a move.

After what seemed like hours, they reached the last table where the Hogwarts faculty were sitting.

"Congratulations!" said the Professors in union, raising their glasses.

Minerva rose to her feet to embrace them. "The ceremony was beautiful. I'm so happy for you two." she said tearfully.

"Thank you, Professor. We're glad you could come." said Severus.

"Yes, thank you all for coming. I hope you have a nice time, here." added Sirius and took Severus' hand.

They were about to walk to their own table when Dumbledore cleared his throat. "It is a lovely reception, of course, but I can't help but notice only the purebloods were invited."

"It must have been a coincidence." said Sirius shortly. "Please excuse us, I think it's time for our dance."

"Coincidence, you say?" asked Dumbledore with a calculating glint in his eyes. "I certainly hope so. I have heard rumors about the wards around the Prince Manor. I would have expected the two of you as active order members to hold your wedding elsewhere."

"The wedding arrangements are between the two families." snapped Severus. "It was our decision to hold it here."

"As I recall you are a half-blood yourself, Severus. Also I was under the impression that you were no longer involved with the Black family affairs, Sirius."

"As you can see things have changed, Professor." said Sirius, putting a calming hand on Severus' arm. "Now, please excuse us."

"The nerve of that man!" hissed Severus as they moved away. "Even those pureblood snobs your parents invited had enough tact not to mention my blood status and I know they were dying to ask."

"Don't let him get under your skin. He's fishing for information like the rest of them." said Sirius. "You're ready for our dance?" he asked with a slight bow.

"Yeah." said Severus. He tried to push his irritation away as they danced as a married couple. Other family members joined them on the dance floor when the first song was over. They danced with their mothers next and a few of Severus' cousins before dancing together again.

"May we cut in?" asked Narcissa halfway through their dance, looking at Sirius expectedly.

Sirius scowled a little and didn't make a move, so Severus offered his arm to her instead. "It will be my pleasure." he said politely.

Narcissa smiled sweetly and let him guide her. Severus could see Sirius and Lucius moving to a corner.

"Siri was always a brat." said Narcissa. "He knows I'll be living with you, doesn't he?"

"He does. I've told Septimius as well. You and Draco are welcome here." reassured Severus.

"That's very kind of you."

"I'm sure it will be hard for you, being away from Lucius."

"Yes, it will be." admitted Narcissa with sadness in her eyes. "But Draco always comes first. I'm grateful that you're opening your home to us. If there's anything I can help you with, let me know. You're about to take on a great deal of responsibility."

"I appreciate that." said Severus. He glanced at where his mother was sitting with her sisters. "There is something you can do for me."

"But of course. What is that you need?" asked Narcissa, tensing a bit.

"It's my mother. She's not comfortable with her family, since she was disowned. I do all I can to pull her out of her shell but it's not enough. It would mean a lot to me if you could keep her company while you're here."

"Consider it done." said Narcissa, relaxing. "She seems like a nice woman."

"She is, but she hasn't been herself in a long time."

"Have you considered getting her a healer?"

"She already has one." answered Severus, frowning. "I've examined her potions and she seems to be healing."

"I didn't mean a regular healer." said Narcissa. "Lucius' father wasn't quite himself near the end, either. He had turned somewhat violent. We couldn't overlook it anymore once I got pregnant, so we found a mental healer. There were some potions involved but it was mostly therapy."

"I guess, it wouldn't hurt to try." agreed Severus.

…..

Sirius' scowl deepened as he watched Narcissa dance with his husband. They seemed to be enjoying themselves a little too much.

Lucius snorted next to him. "You need to grow up, already. Severus is as gay as they come and my wife would never cheat on me."

Sirius turned to him sharply. "Severus would never cheat on me, either!" he snapped.

"Then what is your problem? Narcissa is your cousin. It wouldn't kill you to treat her like family. Then again, you don't really know the meaning of that word."

"You want to know what my problem is? I don't trust either of you. I won't let you hurt him!"

"Big talk from the school bully. I'd never understand why he's with you. All you did was torment him. Narcissa and I, on the other hand, have always been Severus' friends."

"You let them try to kill him! Severus may be willing to forgive you, but I'd never forget what you did." said Sirius in a dangerously low voice. "Do you have any idea what it's like to find someone you love in a pool of blood? He had nightmares for months. He'd wake up and look at me with horror, thinking I was Dolohov."

"I admit I didn't do anything to stop it. Everyone knew how close we were and they would have immediately suspected me. Not to mention, Severus had cut me off. He betrayed us and the Dark Lord doesn't take kindly to traitors."

"Yet, you're willing to oppose him."

"I'd do anything for my family." said Lucius. He pointed with his head to Severus and Narcissa who were walking towards them. "You'd do well to remember that." he whispered before taking his wife's hand and guiding her the other side of the room.

"They put dinner on the tables." Severus told him. "Let's eat, I'm starving."

"Me, too." said Sirius. "What were you and Narcissa talking about?"

"This and that. Mostly about my mother. She thinks therapy might help her."

"Yeah, it might." agreed Sirius. "You shouldn't put your guard down around her, you know."

"I won't." promised Severus. He turned his attention to the food as they sat down. "Everything looks great."

Sirius watched him eat for a few minutes before tucking in his own food. It will never be easy for them.


	84. Chapter 84

Chapter 84: Lord Prince

Summary: Severus' responsibilities as the new Lord begin as soon as they're back from their honeymoon.

Their honeymoon was short and sweet. Severus loved Italy and he enjoyed every moment of their stay. It was the first time he had taken a trip like this, with time and money to do as he pleased. They spent each day in a different city; exploring, shopping and trying out the restaurants. On the last day though, they stayed in and made love.

Severus sighed as he leaned again Sirius' chest, his body limp from his third orgasm that day. "I think this was the best sex we've ever had." he whispered.

Sirius chuckled breathlessly. "You said that the last time." he pointed out.

"I did, didn't I? Well, I meant it then but it was better this time."

"I know what you mean. I wish we could stay here forever."

"No one can stay in honeymoon forever. It doesn't mean we can't have fun when we go back."

"Yeah, but it's more romantic when there's only the two of us. We should make a pact to take a trip like this every year." said Sirius and started to play with his hair.

"We should go see China next." Severus blurted out, surprising himself.

"China? Really?" asked Sirius with raised eyebrows.

Severus shrugged. "It was the first place that poped into my head. Where would you want to go?"

"How about India? I've heard they ride elephants."

"I'm pretty sure they don't do that anymore but there's other things we can do there. After that we can go see Argentina."

"And Egypt."

Severus hummed in response, suddenly feeling apprehensive. "Do you think the world will be the same? Five years from now?"

"I don't know, love." said Sirius, kissing his forehead. "I don't want to worry about the war, right now. Let's order dinner. How about lasagna?"

"And gelato?"

"Sure. I bet there's a flavor we haven't tried, yet." said Sirius and picked up the menu from the bedside table.

…

The next day they portkeyed to Diagon Alley before apparating home. They stood on the grounds for a moment, staring at the Manor.

"Ready?" asked Sirius.

Severus nodded and started to play with the family ring on his index finger as they stepped to the door. He could feel the ancient magic vibrating through the ring, as if welcoming him back home.

"Lord Prince, Master Prince." squealed Tilda, as they entered the Manor. "Did sirs have a nice honeymoon?"

"Yes, a very nice one." answered Sirius, grinning.

"Tilda will put sirs' suitcases in Lord Prince's room. You is needed in the drawing room." said the house elf. She disappeared their luggage with a snap of her fingers and bowed at them before disappearing herself.

The two of them made their way to the drawing room. The chair in the middle of the room, which Septimius usually sat in was empty and so was the one next to it, which used to be Alan's seat.

"Welcome home." said Alan and gestured for them to sit. The others echoed his greeting.

"You both look well rested. I trust you enjoyed your trip, young Lord." commented Septimius.

"Yes, we did." answered Severus. He gave his mother a hug before settling in the ancient mahogany chair.

"Good. We have a lot of paperwork to go through." said the old man, pointing to the parchments set in front of them on the table. "Also, Lord Malfoy is waiting for you in the study."

"Lucius is here? When did he arrive?"

"About fifteen minutes ago. He can stand to wait for a while longer." answered Alan, handing them each a quill.

It took them some time to go through all the documents. They had left for their honeymoon a few hours after the Lordship ceremony, so this was his first day acting as the Lord.

"Are we done?" asked Severus, putting the quill down.

"We are, but just so you know as the Lord you needn't act so eager to take visitors." said Septimius.

"I understand, but Lucius wouldn't risk coming here if he didn't have something urgent to discuss."

"As you wish." murmured Septimius, gesturing to the door.

Severus was about to stand up when Noreen cleared her throat. "One more thing." she said, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"Yes?" he asked tentatively.

"We have three single people in the family that are of age. Kyle and Devante are still young but my daughter Kayla is nineteen and she has been receiving courtship requests, specially after the wedding. It's your responsibility as the Lord to choose a suitable suitor for her."

"Oh." said Severus, running a hand through his hair. "I don't want to make decisions for her, but perhaps we can go over the candidates together, tomorrow." he added hesitantly. From the corner of his eyes he could see Septimius shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"That's acceptable." said Noreen, her features softening. "I think you should know, your friend Andrew Parkinson is one of them."

"Andrew?" asked Sirius. "Didn't know he wanted to get married."

"Why would you say that? He's an only child of a respectable family. Is there something we need to know about him?"

"No, I didn't mean it like that. He's just always working is all." said Sirius, blushing. "He's a good healer and a decent guy."

"He is. I'll talk to him if you want." proposed Severus.

"That would be best. Thank you." said Noreen.

Severus nodded at her before standing up again. This time nobody stopped them as they made their way to the study. They found Lucius and Narcissa sitting on the couch, playing with Draco.

"Good of you to join us. I saw you come in half an hour ago." said Lucius, pointing with his head to the window.

"Sorry about that. We had some paperwork to go through."

"No need to explain. I've been a Lord for quite a while myself if you don't recall." sneered Lucius.

"Listen, Malfoy …" started Sirius but Narcissa cut him off.

"Don't mind him. He gets like this when he's on his own for too long." she said, glaring at his husband before turning her gaze to Sirius. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't raise your voice in front of my son." she added before taking Draco and standing up. The boy was staring at them with wide silver eyes. He looked much bigger that the last time Severus had seen him.

"He's all grown up." observed Severus in awe, running his hand gently over the mop of blond hair.

"He's a bit small for his age but he's getting there. I'll let you get down to business." said Narcissa. She gave Lucius a kiss before walking out of the room.

"Any news?" asked Severus sitting next to the fireplace.

"I thought we were to speak alone." said Lucius, shooting a glare in Sirius' direction who was still standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Sirius already knows everything."

"Very well." murmured Lucius. "You were right about the diary. He gave it to me, yesterday."

"Do you have it with you?" asked Sirius.

"No, I just happened to drop by for tea!" snapped Lucius, taking the notebook out of his pocket.

Severus took it in his hands and closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind to get a feel of the magic inside. Suddenly he felt an urge to open the dairy and write all of his secrets in it.

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"No." answered Severus shortly. He put the Horcrux on the table and summoned a blank notebook from one of the shelves, handing it to Sirius. The other boy finally sat down and started casting transfigure charms on it, picking up the original diary every once in a while to take a closer look.

Severus sat back in his chair while Sirius worked, going through the spells he should use to make the second notebook pass as a Horcrux, in his mind. When Sirius was done duplicating the shape of the diary, Severus started casting spells of his own. Some of them were meant to give the book the ability to interfere with the human mind and the others were mostly there only to give the illusion of dark magic.

Once Severus was happy with the results he gave the fake Horcrux to Lucius.

"This is … a pretty good copy." murmured the blond man, who had stayed quiet until then. "I'm sorry about earlier. It's stress, mostly. The Dark Lord put a price on Cissy and Draco's heads once I told him they had fled, from my own money no less."

"I'm sorry." said Severus. It was the only thing he could think of saying in response.

"Don't be. It was my decision to do this." said Lucius in a defeated voice. "He's coming after you. He was livid once your Lordship was announced in the prophet. He's forbidden us to discuss it, but everyone's still speculating over it. At least half of them would swear alliance to you if they weren't so scared of him."

"What do you think it would take for them to leave?" asked Severus, playing with the ring on his finger.

"There's no escaping the Dark Lord or his mark." answered Lucius bitterly.

Severus glanced at Sirius. The boy frowned a little before nodding. "What if I told you the mark could be removed?"

"How?"

"We're working on it."

"If you can truly pull this off … odds would change in your favor." said Lucius, a trace of something like hope in his eyes. "I need to get going." he added before standing to his feet.

"Stay safe." said Severus and summoned Tilda to see him out. When they were gone, he turned to Sirius. "What do think about all of this?"

"I think, Lucius could be useful after all." admitted Sirius before turning his eyes to the diary, resting on the coffee table. "How do you plan to find the rest of them?"

"They're all connected. We're going to use this one to locate the others."

"Is there some kind of spell for that?" asked Sirius.

"No, there isn't. We'll need to craft one." answered Severus, confidently. He already had a few ideas.


	85. Chapter 85

Chapter 85: No Man Can Stand Alone

Summary: Severus has another vision. It makes him rethink their plans.

Sirius woke up with a start. He blinked groggily, trying to figure out what had woken him. It took a while for him to realize that Severus was awake as well. The boy sat rigidly beside him, staring at the wall with wide eyes.

"Sev? Are you OK?" asked Sirius.

Severus turned to him sharply. He looked confused. Sirius grabbed his wrist before he could jump out of bed.

"It's alright, love. You're at Prince Manor." he said in a soothing voice. "We're married. We just came back from our honeymoon."

"Italy." whispered Severus, more to himself.

"That's right. We went to Italy." said Sirius. He stared at his husband and watched as his features relaxed and the confusion vanished from his eyes. "You had a vision?" he asked after a few minutes.

Severus nodded. "There was a ring. Dumbledore was dying and I was helping him." he answered, slowly.

"A ring?"

"It was cursed. I'm sure it was a Horcrux, but … the curse was something else. Like … protection. Dumbledore said he had put the ring on. It turned his hand black. He would have died if I wasn't there. As it was, he wasn't going to stay alive for more than a year."

"Do you think Dumbledore has the ring? I mean, I know Voldemort wouldn't give him one of his Horcruxes, but maybe he's found it."

"I don't know." said Severus, rubbing his forehead. "The vision, it happens years from now. I only know about the Horcruxes because Horace told me but I'm sure he hasn't told Dumbledore anything. Even if Dumbledore has it, there's no way he would give it to us. If anything, he demands that we give him the diary."

"I could do a bit of snooping at Hogwarts. I could talk to the staff or borrow James' cloak and look into Dumbledore's office." suggested Sirius. The moment he said it, he realized it was a bad idea.

"No, you can't do that. This isn't a school prank. You won't get detention if you get caught, you'd lose your apprenticeship. You're already on Dumbledore's bad side." Severus scowled him. It made Sirius smile.

"I know. It was stupid." said Sirius, pulling his husband into his arms. "If he had found the ring he would have died or had a black hand." he added thoughtfully.

"Perhaps this vision was a warning. The Horcruxes could have all sorts of nasty protections placed on them." said Severus, then sighed. "I can't go back to sleep. I'm going to go take a shower."

"Alright." murmured Sirius. He didn't feel like going back to sleep any time soon, either.

…

Severus rubbed at his eyes as he read Remus' report. He was exhausted and it wasn't all because of his uneasy sleep the night before. Acting as the Lord to a Noble house while holding a full time job was not an easy task. Septimius and Alan took care of most of the affairs but they insisted for him to be involved. They didn't want him to claim his position at the wizengamot and take on his other responsibilities until he knew all there was to know about the family. Most heirs were trained since birth for their position and since Severus had not had that privilege, he had to make up for it. He had to learn about the family history and family relations, the previous Lords and their influence on the wizarding community and the family business and investments.

On top of all that he had his own project to work on. He had made some progress with the spell but after the vision, he was hesitant to continue. He was afraid of making a mistake.

A knock on the door brought Severus out of his musings. Andrew walked in a moment later and sat down with a sigh. "How's it going, Sev? You wanted to talk to me?" he asked.

"I …" started Severus, studying his friend intensely. Perhaps that was the answer. He trusted his friends. They could help him.

"Severus?"

"Sorry." murmured Severus and cleared his throat. "My … aunt … told me you've sent a request to court her daughter."

"Yeah." said Andrew, rubbing the back of his neck. "I met Kayla at your wedding. She's nice."

Severus raised an eyebrow when the other man didn't continue. "That's it? You want to marry her because she's nice?"

"Well, it's not just that. She's pretty and smart and …" Andrew trailed off, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Look, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I'm madly in love with her, I only met her that one time but I think I could love her. My parents have been on me to get married for a few years but I don't like any of the girls they approve of. Your cousin's from a respected family and you don't have ties with the Dark Lord. I know it's not exactly romantic but I don't really meet that many girls since I'm working most of the time."

"It's alright. I appreciate you being honest." said Severus, taking pity on him. He had never seen Andrew look so nervous. "Kayla has a lot of courtship requests. I went through them with my aunt. She likes the idea of having a healer for a son in law and you're one of the few that Kayla has actually met."

"Does that mean you're going to let me court her?"

"I'm not sure. A courtship is almost a done deal. It would start rumors if either of you break it off." answered Severus. He studied his hands for a few minutes before coming to a decision. "Sirius and I are working on a project and we might need some help. You can come over with Remus and Lisa. This way you'd get to see Kayla and the two of you could get to know each other. I'll decide later if you can court her formally or not."

"That's fair. Thank you, Sev." said the healer, relaxing in his chair. "How's your research going?" he asked, gesturing to the parchments lying on the desk.

"I'm on the right track, I think but the potion has only improved the brain activity in the patients by five percent."

"Five percent? That's not a bad rate for brain damage. It makes a world of difference to those patients. What you need to worry about is the potion's long-term side effects, since they need to take it on a regular basis."

"That makes sense." admitted Severus. He had made sure the potion wasn't harmful to the human body but he hadn't considered the long-term side effects.

The more they discussed the potion, the more Severus became confident in his decision. Sirius and he had been doing fine on their own but it would only be a matter of time until they made a mistake. They needed their friends' support if they were going to make it.


	86. Chapter 86

Chapter 87: Sanctuary

Summary: A few guest arrive announced at Prince Manor.

Severus looked around the room, watching his friends' faces as the information sank in. They were sitting in the study at the Prince Manor discussing Horcruxes. It was amazingly freeing to share the burden with them.

"How exactly does your spell work?" asked Lisa, leaning forward in her chair.

"It basically uses the link between them. Each Horcrux contains a piece of the caster's soul but the trick is that once you separate that piece, the soul itself will change. So, each piece will be slightly different because the soul keeps changing while creating the Horcruxes. The spell makes the Horcrux point to its brother, so the first one would point to the second one, since the others are too different to be considered its match, and the second one would point to the first one and the third one." explained Severus, trying to be as clear as he could.

"And this is the first one?"

"Yes, it points to only one location." said Severus and ran a hand through his hair. "Now, the problem is that we can't exactly follow the path to find the next Horcrux. It could be thousands of miles away."

"We were hoping you guys might have some ideas." added Sirius.

They were all quiet for a few minutes, deep in thought, until Remus spoke up. "These Horcruxes are really important to Voldemort, they're pieces of him after all, not to mention his tools for immortality. He wouldn't put them in some place random." he said thoughtfully.

"Remus is right. If it was me, I would have put them somewhere I knew well. This way I could be sure it was secure." said Lisa, her eyes lighting up.

"How are we supposed to find his special hiding places? What do we even know about him?" asked Andrew.

"Horace should know something. He was Riddle's head of house." said Severus.

"I could talk to him when I go to Hogwarts, tomorrow." proposed Sirius. "I'm sure he'll help us. He wants this resolved as much as we do."

"I bet one of them is at Hogwarts." said Remus. "He's spent seven years there, like the rest of us. I could think of about ten great spots I could hide something in and it would go unnoticed for years."

"It's worth a try." agreed Severus. "But we all need to be cautious. We don't know what kind of protection the dark Lord is using. It would be really stupid for any of us to die like that."

"Your mind went there awfully quickly." remarked Andrew.

"It's the truth. He wouldn't use muggle repellent or stinging hexes. Whatever protection he has put on them it's there to kill the intruder."

"Do you think he'll somehow find out if we take them?" asked Lisa.

"He could feel them being destroyed, I think, but he wouldn't know if we move them unless he goes looking for them. We can only hope the fake ones we put in their place would deter him." answered Sirius.

"He could make new ones if he finds out." Andrew pointed out.

"Basically, yes. But the requirements of creating a Horcrux are not easy to fulfill. It could only happen at certain days throughout the year and it causes a huge strain on one's magic that could leave a wizard venerable for at least a couple of months, something Voldemort can't afford to do right now." said Sirius, before turning to Severus. "Why don't you show us the spell?"

"All of you need to learn this, so pay attention." said Severus, standing up. He pointed his wand to the diary, which was sitting on the coffee table, and started chanting. "Invenient te frater" he said over and over until the Horcrux glowed and a pale ribbon of light appeared next to it, pointing north. He wiped at his forehead before turning to his friends.

"You look worn out." said Remus.

"In order to get the Horcrux to obey, you need to tame it with your magic. It takes a lot of energy." explained Severus before stepping aside. "Why don't you try next, Remus? Remember not to get too close, stand at least two feet away." he added and leaned heavily on the wall as he watched them practice the spell. By the end they were all tired, but Severus was more drained than the others. He laid down on the couch, half listening as Sirius answered everyone's questions about the spell and the Horcruxes.

Severus was about to fall asleep when he felt a pull on his magic. He sat up and focused on the sensation. He had gotten used to the ancient magic that flew through the Manor by now, but this was the first time he was experiencing something like this. Suddenly, he felt the urge to look at the grounds. He gave in and walked to the bay window. There were about twenty people standing outside and they had their luggage with them.

"Sirius?" he asked, frowning as he recognized some of them.

"What is it?"

"Those people … What are they doing here?" asked Severus.

The other four joined him by the window. They all looked as confused as he felt.

"It's mostly women and children." observed Lisa.

"They're the Death Eaters' families." said Severus, his frown deepening. "Tilda!" he called.

The small creature appeared in the room and bowed. "What does Lord Prince need?" she asked.

"Go get the elders … and Narcissa. Tell them to come immediately."

"Right away, sir." said Tilda, disappearing with a pop.

It didn't take long for them to arrive. They all gathered in front of the window, watching the scene.

"Do you have any idea why they might have come here?" asked Severus turning to face his companions.

"I'd say they're here to spy on us, but this is an awfully odd way of going about it." said Alan.

"Isn't it obvious?" snapped Narcissa. "They're here for the same reason I am, they want somewhere safe for their kids. You have to let them in!"

"I don't care for your tone, Lady Malfoy." said Septimius. "You're speaking to the Lord of the Manor."

"Do any of them have the mark?" Severus asked Narcissa.

"No, they don't. I know everyone in the dark Lord's inner circle." said Narcissa, confidently.

"Do we have enough room for them?" he asked his aunt.

"Of course we do. But we can't just let anyone in. Those wards are here for a reason." answered Kathleen.

"Kathleen is right. We can't trust them." said Alan.

"You have to let them in. If you don't, the dark Lord will find them." said Narcissa, her eyes flashing with anger.

Severus closed his eyes for a second. Narcissa was right. They were here asking for his help and he couldn't send them away. "We'll let them in." started Severus and raised a hand as his family made to protest. "But not before they take a vow to follow the rules and not cause trouble. Do you all agree to that?"

"That sounds reasonable. We could send them to the east wing, this way they won't interfere in our affairs." said Septimius.

Severus looked around the room. When no one said anything, he turned on his heels and made his way to the grounds. Sirius fell into step beside him while Septimius and his children followed close behind.

Some of their guests jumped in surprise as they exited the wards. They must have appeared out of nowhere since the wards kept the Manors and its occupants hidden from intruders.

"Why are you here?" asked Severus. There were twenty six of them; twelve children, nine women and five men.

"We're here to ask for sanctuary, my Lord." answered Sara Nott. She was holding a sleeping baby, no older than Draco. "After Narcissa left, there's been more pressure on us to live according to the dark Lord's wishes. I don't want my son to grow up like that."

"Does any of you have the mark?"

"Not yet, my Lord." said Sara. She shifted the baby awkwardly in her arms and pulled up her left sleeve. The rest followed suit. "We're all supposed to take the mark, soon. He'd make the children do it, too if their magic allowed it."

"You must understand, I don't know any of you that well. I can't just …"

"Please, at least take in the children! They're at a meeting right now but they'll soon find out that we've left." pleaded another one of the women. He couldn't remember her name.

"You'd leave your children with me?" asked Severus with a raised eyebrow.

"The dark Lord already thinks of them as his possessions. The Prince Manor is the safest place for them. You're a decent guy, we know you wouldn't hurt defenseless children."

"I wouldn't." agreed Severus. "But like I said, I have no reason to trust you. If you want to be welcomed at my home, you each have to take a vow. You'll swear on your magic that you'd follow the household rules, wouldn't send out any information you learn here to anyone, that you'd respect my family and friends and bring no harm to them." he continued, his tone firm.

Sara didn't hesitate. She stepped forward and took the vow. One by one, they all said the words, their eyes shining with hope.

"Welcome to Prince Manor." said Severus and watched the awe on their faces as the Manor appeared before them.

...

Notes: "Invenient te frater" means 'find your brother' in Latin, or at least I think it does. If you think it's wrong or you can think of a better phrase, please let me know.


	87. Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Adelaide

Summary: Severus and Sirius receive some shocking news.

Sirius and Remus apparated to the shrieking shack before making their way to the Hogwarts grounds along the moldy tunnel. They had debated over who should go to the school. It wouldn't do for all of them to go together, it would have been too suspicious. It also would have been foolish for any of them to go alone. Sirius had been the obvious choice, since he was McGonagall's apprentice and had a legitimate reason for being at Hogwarts, and he had gotten to choose who he wanted to go with. He would have chosen Severus if it wasn't for his husband's history with the Headmaster. Instead he had picked Remus who had been his partner in crime all through their seven years of schooling and knew every inch of Hogwarts just like he did.

"Invenient te frater" Sirius started chanting at the diary as they stood in front of the castle. After a few minutes, the notebook glowed brilliantly in the dark and an illuminating ribbon of light appeared, pointing to the seventh floor.

"Shit." swore Remus. "What if someone saw that?"

"Don't worry they're all sleeping." reassured Sirius. "The teachers patrol the halls throughout the night but they get some sleep before sunrise. Let's go." he added and opened the large doors. They moved swiftly and soon they reached the seventh floor corridor.

This time Remus casted the spell. He frowned when the diary pointed to the wall. "Is something behind that wall?" he asked.

"Yeah, watch this." answered Sirius. He started walking back and forth, focusing on finding what had been hidden there. When he did it for the third time a door appeared, behind it there were mountains of crap gathered through generations of students.

"There!" exclaimed Remus. He handed the diary to Sirius and put on the protective gloves they had brought before following the light. "It's a tiara." he said, holding it up.

"Wow! It's old." observed Sirius. "Looks like a family heirloom, except … I've never heard any of the families having a tiara and there's no crest on it."

"Ravenclaw had a tiara." said Remus quietly, his eyes shining with excitement. "The legend has it that it would increase one's wisdom. It went missing after Rowena's death. Do you think this could be the same on?"

"Anything's possible, I guess."

"Such pity. How could Voldemort ruin something valuable like this?"

"I don't know, Moony. We should go before someone sees us." answered Sirius. He pull a charmed bag out of his robe's pocket and held it open. Remus nodded, all the excitement leaving his face. He put the tiara inside with a sigh and took off his gloves.

They hurried out of the castle, using the numerous secret passages they had discovered with the help of their map when they were students.

"It was kind of fun, wasn't it? Just like old times." said Sirius when they got to the edge of the wards.

"Yeah." was all Remus said in response. He still looked pensive.

"Coming to the Manor?" asked Sirius.

"No, I'd rather go home. Say hi to Severus."

"Alright. You say hello to Lisa." he said with a grin and disapparated.

….

Sirius secured the Horcrux in the study before entering his and Severus' rooms. He found his husband sitting in the middle of the bed with his head in his hands.

"Sev?" he asked hesitantly.

"I got sick again." whispered Severus without raising his head.

"But … you said the potion worked." said Sirius. He sat on the bed next to him and started to rub his back.

"It did. I felt fine yesterday."

"I'm sorry, love."

"Did you find the Horcrux?" asked Severus, leaning back against him.

"We did. It's a tiara. It was in the room of requirements." answered Sirius.

"Nobody saw you?"

"No. Everything went fine." said Sirius, kissing his hair. "The tiara though, is curious. It's old and fancy looking. Remus thinks it's Ravonclaw's."

"I thought that had gone missing." said Severus and ran a tired hand over his face. "I don't feel like going to work, today." he admitted.

Sirius frowned. Severus never missed work. "I'll call Andrew. It's about time you saw a healer." he said firmly and went to their small sitting area to floo call the healer.

Andrew came through immediately. After running a dozen of diagnostic charms on Severus, he sat in silence as if lost for words.

"Is it something serious?" asked Sirius, holding his husband's hand.

"No, … not exactly."

"Just tell me what it is." said Severus. He was starting to look nervous.

"I casted every charm I could think of. They all say the same thing but it doesn't make any sense."

"Andrew!" snapped Severus.

Sirius squeezed his hand harder. "Spill it out, Parkinson." he said

Andrew sighed. "You're five weeks pregnant." he said.

"What?!" breathed Severus, his eyes widening.

"Are you sure?" asked Sirius.

"Positive. To be exact, the child must have been conceived the day after your wedding."

"The Lordship ceremony." murmured Sirius. There had been a huge amount of magic involved.

"This can't be! I can't be pregnant. I can't have a baby. I can't Sirius. I … I can't b … breath." Severus stopped his rant, struggling to pull some air into his lungs. "This ha … hasn't happen s …since school." he whispered miserably. Sirius felt his heart clench in sympathy.

"Here, drink this." said Andrew and gave him a dose of calming draft. "Take deep breaths." he instructed.

"It'll be fine, Sev." said Sirius once the boy calmed down a bit. "You don't have to keep it if you don't want to. Right, Andrew?"

"Yes, of course and I'd keep it confidential if you decide to go through with it, but you have to really think this through. Once you terminate the pregnancy, there's no going back." explained Andrew grimly.

"It's your decision, love." said Sirius. "If you don't think you're ready …"

"What about you? You like kids. I've seen the way you play with my cousins' kids. Wouldn't you be disappointed?" asked Severus quietly.

Sirius forced a smile. It was true, he had always wanted to have his own family. He knew Severus didn't feel the same way and had hoped he would change his mind after the two years they had to wait for the fertility potion but now … it was too soon. "I don't want to have a kid like this. I know how you feel about it." he said, trying not to sound upset.

Something in his eyes, though must have given him away. Severus looked at him with sad black eyes. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

"Don't be sorry. It's Ok."

"Give me some time to think about it, alright?"

"Thank you." said Sirius and pulled his husband in a hug.

Andrew cleared his throat. "There are things we need to discuss if you decide to keep the baby. In the meantime try to take it easy." he started and went over a few methods for controlling the morning sickness.

…

After the healer left, Sirius did his best to give Severus some space. He spent most of the day at Hogwarts and busied himself in the library at night. When he woke up the next morning, Severus was nowhere to be found. As worried as he was, Sirius let it go and went to the dinning room for breakfast alone.

"What is going on in here?" he asked as he entered the room.

His parents were there, looking as though they've just rolled out of bed.

"Congratulation! We're so excited." said Walburga. She looked ten years younger than usual. "Which one of you is it?"

"What … what do you mean?" stuttered Sirius, his stomach turning to knots.

"We saw a new branch on the family tree, when we woke up. We're so proud." answered Orion, grinning from ear to ear.

"What is going on?" asked Septimius.

"We're to be grandparents!" announced Walburga.

"Severus is the one who's pregnant, isn't he? That's why he's been sick." said Daniel.

"Did you know, already? Why didn't you tell us?"

"How wonderful!"

"Do you know how it happened?"

"Stop it, right now!" snapped Sirius. "We shouldn't be talking about this."

"Why ever not?" his mother snapped back.

"Because, … Severus just found out yesterday and he freaked out. He'll get upset if he hears you."

"Oh, the poor dear." said Walburga, looking genuinely concerned for a moment before perking up. "Well, he's not here right now. Have you thought of names?" she asked.

With that they got going again. Turned out, everyone had a suggestion or two. It didn't take long for Sirius to forget himself and join the conversation.

"Adelaide" said someone from the doorway. They all turned to see Severus standing there. He hadn't shaven and he was wearing a cloak over his nightshirt. From his flushed cheeks, Sirius could say he had been out for a walk. "Her name is Adelaide." he repeated.

Sirius felt his heart melt. "That's beautiful. Did you just think of that?" he asked, unable to hold back a smile.

Severus shook his head. "I saw her last night, in my dream." he answered, smiling back.


	88. Chapter 88

Chapter 88: The Dream

Summary: Severus sees Adelaide for the first time, in his dream.

Severus watched his daughter fondly as she ran after butterflies. Her long curly hair bounced as she leaped in the air and her small face was scrunched up in concentration. Severus leaned back on the grass and closed his eyes, appreciating the sunlight. A few minutes later, he felt small hands on his knee, shaking him.

"Daddy?" called the sweet voice.

"Yes, Adelaide?" he said lazily.

"Can we go pet the ponies? Please, please, please." she pleaded.

Severus opened his eyes a fraction and looked around. A couple of ponies were standing by the lake. "Alright." he said finally.

A huge grin formed on Adelaide's face and she grabbed his hand, pulling enthusiastically. Severus got to his feet, then scooped her into his arms and made his way to the lake.

"Hello! I'm Adelaide." his daughter told the ponies, which made them look up. "Daddy, say hi." she added and turned in his arms to look into his eyes.

Severus kissed the bridge of her nose before turning to the ponies. "Hi, is it OK if we pet you?" he asked politely.

One of them neighed and brought its head down, looking as if he was nodding.

Adelaide took that as permission and started petting. She giggled and pulled her hand away when the pony neighed again but got back to petting soon.

Severus smiled to himself as he ran his fingers over the girl's black locks. She was the most precious creature on earth.

…

Severus woke up with a pleasant feeling. He sighed contently and turned his head to see Sirius sound sleep. Deciding to check the time, he opened the nightstand drawer and reached for his wand but couldn't find it. He raised his head and peered into the dark. His ebony wand was on the nightstand, instead. Frowning a bit he picked it up and casted a tempus. It was almost five and he didn't feel like going back to sleep.

Severus figured he could get some work done before the others woke up. He got out of bed, careful not to disturb his husband and headed for the bathroom. He paused as he closed the door and saw his reflection in the mirror. Something wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on it, though. As he swept his eyes around the room, he noticed that none of the toiletries were as he had left them. Puzzled, Severus opened the cabinet above the sink and found a few potion vials. As he held them in his hands it all started to come back to him, he has just found out he was pregnant. Adelaide had not been born yet, she may never be born. The thought made him light headed and he sank to the floor, grasping the vials tighter.

He wasn't ready to be a parent. He didn't want a child, yet … he knew he'd love Adelaide with all of his heart. He uncorked one of the potion and took a swallow as a wave of nausea hit him. The morning sickness would likely go on for weeks. He'd have cramps and aches and he would have to stop brewing for the most part. The labour, though had to be the hardest part.

Suddenly, the walls seemed to close up on him. All he knew was that he had to get out of there and that's what he did. He put the potions aside and left, only stopping to grab a cloak.

Severus took a deep breath as he reached the grounds and sat down on the grass. For a moment he focused on the sound of his breathing, trying to empty his mind, but he couldn't stop the images; Adelaide running with childish joy, her toothy smile and rosy cheeks, her small hands petting the ponies' fur and her sweet smell. She'd smell like apples, cookies and hope and Severus couldn't help but long for it, for the way she had wrapped her arms around his neck and the adoration in her eyes when she had looked at him. He wanted this child. It was going to be hard but he knew he wasn't alone. Sirius wanted her, too. He was going to be a wonderful father and Severus … he'd have to learn.

…

Severus stopped at the doorway. Everyone was there, including Sirius' parents and they were throwing around baby names. 'They all know then.' he thought, but couldn't bring himself to care. He stood there and listened to their debate until he couldn't take it anymore. "Adelaide" he said. "Her name is Adelaide."

"That's beautiful. Did you just think of that?" asked Sirius, smiling at him.

Severus shook his head. "I saw her last night, in my dream." he answered, smiling back.

"You saw her? It's …it's a girl?" asked Sirius, a look of wonder on his face.

"Yes." answered Severus simply.

Sirius stepped closer and took him in his arms. "Do you want her?" he whispered.

"I do, but … I'm still …"

"It's going to be alright. I'll be there for you." said Sirius, pulling away a little.

"Don't keep him standing there, Sirius. He already looks like he's about to faint." scowled Daniel.

"Yes, dear. Come have breakfast. You should start eating for two." added Eileen, beaming.

"Just get all the fatty things away from me." said Severus.

The eggs and bacon vanished from the head of the table as the two of them sat down. Severus put some toast and a bit of fruit on his plate, feeling other people's gaze on him.

"Sev?" said Sirius. "What did she look like?"

"She has my eyes and long curly hair like yours. Her nose looks like mine but it's smaller."

"I can't wait to see her." said Sirius, squeezing his hand.

"I take it, this is not the first time you have had a vision like this?" commented Septimius with an unreadable expression.

Severus felt himself blush a little. "No, not the first time." he said.

"I see." murmured his grandfather.

They all ate in silence for a few minutes until Kathleen spoke up. "I think we should throw a party." she said.

"What a marvelous idea!" agreed Walburga. "We'll invite all the noble families."

"No, that won't do." said Septimius. "We'll invite only a selected few. An exclusive party will attract more attention."

"That's sensible." said Orion.

"Do Severus and I get a say?" asked Sirius.

"The party isn't about the two of you. We need to get the word out about the pregnancy. Old magic is what made it happen. It's the proof that Severus is a worthy Lord and people are going to recognize that." explained Alan. "What we need is the support of the other families and this will make it happen."

"Alright. Seems like you know what you're doing." said Severus as they all turned to him.

…

"Sev?" asked Sirius, as they both lay awake in their bed that night. "Tell me more about Adelaide. What was the dream about?"

"We were on the grounds. Adelaide was chasing butterflies, then she said she wanted to pet the ponies, so we did." answered Severus. "She looked happy."

"I do like that name."

"Me, too." said Severus. "I used to look up the names of Roman Emperor when I was in primary school, you know, since my own name was one of them. Adelaide was the name of an Emperor's wife."

"She's a queen!" exclaimed Sirius. "We're going to spoil her rotten."

"God forbid. She'll end up like James Potter."

Sirius chuckled. "We'll spoil her just a bit, then." he said.

"It's a deal."

...

Notes: According to "behindthename" website, the name Adelaide was borne in the 10th century by Saint Adelaide, the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great.


	89. Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Parenthood

Summary: Severus is struggling with mood swings.

Andrew sat in the drawing room, holding a wrapped package in his hands. He had been visiting Prince Manor quite often. Severus invited him over every two or three days and he always got to spend some time with Kayla. He was getting attached to the girl and starting to really care for her. She was kind, smart and fun to be around. Andrew had sent the courtship request because he was tired of being alone and wanted some companionship but he hadn't imagined it would turn out like this.

"Hello, Andrew." said Kayla, entering the room with her usual grace and smile.

"Hi." answered Andrew. "You look very pretty, today." he added.

Kayla laughed. "You say that every time."

"You do." he insisted. She had a light blue dress on and was wearing her black hair in a braid.

"Thank you." said Kayla, sitting next to him. "Is that for me?" she asked, looking at the parcel in his hands.

"Yes, why don't you open it? It's nothing, really. I just thought you might like it."

"It's a vase!" exclaimed Kayla, as she took the crystal out of the box. "I love it."

"You're always gathering flowers and I thought you could get some use out of this."

Kayla laughed again. "That's very thoughtful. I'll be thinking of you when I gather flowers from now on." she said cheerfully. "I have something for you, too. It's the book I was telling you about." she continued and picked up an old tome from one of the shelves and handed it to him.

Andrew took the book carefully and leafed through it. He sighed in disappointment when he realized it was written in French.

"What's wrong? Is it not the right one?" asked Kayla, pouting a bit.

"No, it's just … I only know about ten words in French." answered Andrew and tried not to look too glum.

"That's alright. I'll translate the chapters you need." said Kayla, kindly. "I could also teach you a bit. You'll need to know some French if you want to be part of the Prince family."

"That would be great. Thank you Kayla. I never had a chance to learn. My parents didn't think it was necessary and now I don't have much time." explained Andrew. "Out of curiosity, can Severus speak French?"

"No, he can't. And he's been focusing on other things for now, like the family history and pureblood politics. Sirius is really good, though and helps him out and they both speak German." said Kayla. "Do you speak any other language?"

"No, it was never expected of me. My parents don't feel an heir needs to make too much effort. They think being rich entitles you to laze about and let your servants take care of everything. You should have seen their faces when I told them I have applied to become a healer."

"I'm sure they're proud of you." said Kayla, frowning a bit.

"I suppose." he murmured. His parents had wanted him to join Voldemort like the rest of his friends. They had been very disappointed in him, the vow he had taken upon entering the healing program prevented him from getting involved with anything like that.

"Andrew? When do you think we can start the courting?" asked Kayla after a few minutes of silence. "I want to get married, soon."

"I know. I want that, too. But Severus said he wanted us to get to know each other before making things official."

Kayla sighed. "I know he means well, but he's being too strict. It's because of his mother, you know. It was a painful experience for the whole family. My grandfather never forgave himself for driving her away. Things changed after that, our parents make sure to find good matches for us. All of my cousins have happy marriages."

"I'll talk to him today. I'm supposed to give him a checkup." reassured Andrew. "The last time I saw Severus he was … stressed out. How has he been coping?"

"He's doing fine. He's a bit moody but that's normal, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's natural with all the …" started Andrew but he was cut off when the door opened.

"Hey, guys." greeted a handsome man. "I thought I heard your voice, Kayla."

"Regulus! It's good to see you." said Kayla, smiling brightly. "This is Andrew Parkinson."

"You're Lucius' friend. The Ravenclaw's perfect, right?" asked Regulus.

"That's me." answered Andrew, forcing a smile. "And you must be Sirius' brother. I remember you from the wedding."

Regulus nodded. "Yes, I was Severus' best man. Speaking of my brother in law, I think he's ready for his checkup. You better get there before he hexes Sirius' head off."

"Right." murmured Andrew. He kissed Kayla on the cheek and got to his feet. "I'll see you at dinner." he said and made his way to the door. He could see Regulus sitting next to Kayla from the corner of his eyes and felt a stab of jealousy.

The feeling lingered until he reached Severus and Sirius' suite. He knocked before turning the door handle and getting inside.

"Stop fussing, Sirius. You're driving me crazy!" he heard Severus snap.

"I'm not fussing. I'm just trying to make sure you're comfortable." came Sirius' response.

"Why are you arguing with me?!" Severus snapped again. "That's it. I don't need a checkup. I'm fine."

"Severus! You're acting like a child."

"What did you say?" hissed Severus.

"…"

"Alright. Let's all calm down." said Andrew, stepping in the bedroom. "Why don't we get started?" he continued and took out his wand.

"I keep telling him it's not good for him to get himself worked up but he doesn't listen."

"If you don't want me to get worked up, then …" started Severus.

"He's right, Sirius. Stop aggravating him." Andrew told Sirius before turning to his patient. "Now, take a deep breath." he said and got started.

The couple stayed quiet throughout the checkup, even though there was obviously some tension between them.

"Everything looks good. How is the morning sickness?" asked Andrew when he was done with his tests.

"It's better." said Severus.

"No, it's not. He barely eats."

"Would you cut it out? I can answer for myself. I'm not an imbecile!"

"It's good that you're not getting sick as often but you need to make sure to eat." Andrew jumped in before they could go at it again. "Try eating a few small meals during the day. Now, I'm going to go over some things with Sirius while you get dressed." he added and dragged the other boy out of the room with him.

"Do I need to write this down?" asked Sirius.

"No, it's fine. I just wanted to tell you that you shouldn't take anything he says personally. It's the hormones."

"Everyone keeps saying that. If it's just mood swings why is he only like this with me?"

"Because he feels comfortable enough around you to show his frustration and maybe he has higher expectations of you." reasoned Andrew. He had been a healer for a few years and he had seen many cases like this.

"I haven't thought of it like that." admitted Sirius.

"Try to be more patient. His body's through a lot and you know he's anxious about the pregnancy."

"What are you two whispering about?" asked an annoyed looking Severus, walking out of the bedroom.

"I was telling Sirius about food cravings." said Andrew. "Have you had any?"

"Yeah, I can't stop thinking about cherry gelatos. We had them on our honeymoon."

"I'll get you some." said Sirius, picking up his cloak.

"It's alright. I know you can't find that here. Regular ice-cream is fine."

"I think they sell them in London. I better go before it closes." said Sirius over his shoulder as he left.

Severus watched him go with irritation. "He can't get out of here soon enough." he sneered, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Can I ask you something?" said Andrew, changing the subject. "Kayla and Regulus, are they close?"

"Yes, they're good friends. I think they correspond. " said Severus absentmindedly as he sat down.

"Should I be worried?"

"What do you mean?" asked Severus, blinking. "No, they're just friends."

"It's just, … he's closer to Kayla's age and I couldn't help but notice how good looking he is."

"Don't worry about Reg. If there was anything between them I would have told you."

"Why is he here, then?" asked Andrew, unable to contain himself.

"I asked him to help me with a project. He interpreted some runes for me and he's going to help me draw them." explained Severus and ran a hand through his hair. "You don't need to be jealous. Kayla really likes you. She thinks the world of you."

"Really? Does that mean we could start the courting?"

"I guess. You have to wait after this baby party is done, though. It's next weekend."

"Thank you, Severus." said Andrew, the tension finally leaving him. "I think the world of her, too. I think I can make her happy."

Severus only nodded in respond. His mood turning sour again.

"I'll let you rest." murmured Andrew, exiting the room with a spring in his steps.

…

Severus sat there for a few minutes. He was mad at Sirius for leaving and he was mad at himself for making him leave. He knew he had become hard to live with but he couldn't help himself.

He could hear the children play on the grounds after their afternoon tea and it irritated him. With their new guests living at the Manor, there were too many kids running around. It wasn't that Severus hated children in general, but he had trouble connecting with them. They were all like his old schoolmates, rich and happy. They were too different from him.

He went into the corridor and sat on a window sill facing the forest to get away from the noise. His thoughts went to his own childhood. There had been a forest not unlike this one behind their house.

He must have been sitting there for a while because it was getting dark when someone interrupted his depressing thoughts.

"Knut for your thoughts?" asked Sirius from behind him.

Severus half turned to look at him.

"I've got your gelato. It's cherry." said his husband sheepishly.

Severus considered refusing the ice-cream but he wanted it too badly, so he took it and started eating. "Why did you take off like that?" he asked quietly between spoonfuls.

"I didn't want to get into another fight." answered Sirius. "I'm sorry, Sev. I should be more sensible. I wish you could tell me what's bothering you."

Severus didn't say anything for a few minutes and kept looking out the window. "I always thought my dad hated me. Turned out he didn't but I was always scared of him. He hated magic and he got really nasty when he was drunk. My mom was nice but … sometimes I felt like she didn't care." he started, turning to face his husband. "I have no idea how to be a good dad. I don't want Adelaide to grow up the way I did."

"She won't. You're sweet and caring and you're going to be an amazing father. Any child would be lucky to have you as their dad."

"You're just saying that." said Severus, feeling tears running down his cheeks. He hated being so emotional.

Sirius raised his hand and wiped his tears away. "I love you, Severus. You're the greatest guy I've ever met. And I promise I'll always be there for you."

"I love you, too." whispered Severus and let Sirius pull him in a hug.


	90. Chapter 90

Chapter 90: The Prisoner

Summary: Lucius decides to take things into his own hands.

Severus examined the tiara with a frown.

"I know it still doesn't look the same but I did my best. I even started with real silver this time. We could try having it made but it might attract attention and we have no guarantee it would look the same. The tiara is no ordinary jewelry, I'm starting to believe it really did belong to Rowena Ravenclaw." explained Sirius.

"This will have to do, then." murmured Severus and started casting the necessary spells to forge the magic on the Horcrux. Sirius was to take it to Hogwarts the next day and put it in the room of requirements and Remus and Lisa were in charge of taking the original Horcrux to the locations Horace had suggested and try to find the next one with Severus' spell.

"There." he said when he was done and slumped in his chair in exhaustion.

"Why don't you take a nap? We still have an hour before the party." suggested Sirius gently.

"I think I should. If only I could drink real coffee."

"Sorry, hon. How about a snack?"

"Yeah." said Severus, perking up and was about to call Tilda when the elf appeared before them.

"Lord Prince, Master Malfoy is here to see sirs." announced the house elf.

Severus sighed, feeling annoyed. "We'll see him right away. Could you bring me a snack in the study? I want a peanut butter sandwich with a scoop of ice cream … and a glass of apple juice."

"Yes, sir." said Tilda cheerfully and disappeared again.

Severus and Sirius walked to the study, apprehensively. If Lucius was there, it meant something important had happened.

"Malfoy." said Sirius in greeting as they entered the room.

"What brings you here, Lucius?" asked Severus, sitting in his armchair.

"Something curious happened. I thought you might want to know." answered Lucius. "The dark Lord asked for one of us to loan him a house elf. I volunteered of course, so that I could find out what he was up to." he started.

"A house elf?"

"Yes, I sent my elf, Dobby. When he came back he was not …" he trailed off, looking at Severus as if he had grown an extra head.

"What?" asked Severus, with a frown.

"Forgive me, Severus but in all the years I've known you I've never seen you eat like this."

Severus looked down at his plate, blushing. The food had appeared as soon as they had entered the room and he had dug into it with relish. "Sorry. Did you want something?" he asked.

"Ah … no thank you. I've already been offered refreshments." said Lucius, staring at him with a puzzled look.

"What did the dark Lord want with the elf?" snapped Sirius.

"Yes, the house elf." murmured Lucius and cleared his throat. "Dobby wasn't feeling well at all when he came back, he was very weak in fact. When I questioned him, he revealed the dark Lord had taken him to a cave. The cave led to another entrance which required blood sacrifice to open and from there they went to a small island in the middle of a lake, riding on a boat. There the Dark Lord had made him drink a potion, an emerald green and glowing potion, which caused intense pain in the form of a burning sensation and made the elf delusional, he was apparently remembering some of his worst memories. In the end it made him extremely thirsty."

"What would he gain from making your elf drink such a Potion?" asked Severus.

"My best guess is that he was trying it out. Dobby told me that in the end the dark Lord put a necklace at the bottom of a stone basin and refilled it with the potion. Dobby also said the water around the island was filled with Inferi, adding that to the thirst and delirium that comes from drinking the potion, the whole thing seems like a death trap. This necklace must indeed be valuable. It's related to that notebook, isn't it?"

"Yes, it probably is." said Severus and took a swing from his juice, deep in thought. He could vaguely remember reading about a potion like that.

"I've heard of him using Inferi." said Sirius, shaking his head. "How's the elf, by the way?"

"The potion wasn't fatal and it has worn off. He'll be fine." answered Lucius, dismissively. "The dark Lord had left him there to die, though. Good thing I gave him instructions to come to me immediately afterwards. That man has no regard for other peoples' possessions."

"Thank you for telling us, Lucius. I would appreciated it if you gave us the exact location of the cave." said Severus after a few minutes of silence. "I don't mean to be rude, but we have an event tonight and need to get ready."

"Yes, your exclusive dinner party." sneered Lucius. "Before you dismiss me, I would like to know how you're fairing with your end of the deal." he added angrily.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you were working on removing the mark when we last met." Lucius bit out.

Severus narrowed his eyes in irritation, he did not care for the man's tone. "You're probably assuming we're sitting on our asses but we're not! As a matter of fact we're about done with that. We just finished preparing a room for the ceremony, yesterday."

"And when are you planning on testing it?"

"It does not need testing."

"Of course it needs testing, you arrogant twat!" snapped Lucius.

"That's enough, Malfoy!" Sirius snapped back.

Severus jumped to his feet, balling his hands into fists. "What do you expect me to do? Kidnap someone and mark them, only to test removing it when I already know it works?"

"Listen you …" started Lucius and took a step towards him.

Severus felt a sudden rush of fear and hastily took a couple of steps back, putting a protective hand on his stomach.

Sirius was standing in the middle of them in a flash. "Back off!" he barked.

Lucius blinked. He backed away, still staring at him. He looked away for a moment to glance at the empty plate on the coffee table before his gray eyes settled on him again. "You're pregnant." he whispered. "I … I apologize for my behavior. I had no idea."

"It's fine." said Severus, sitting down numbly. He was still feeling uneasy.

"Are you alright?" asked Sirius.

"I'll be fine." answered Severus and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"I don't suppose you have already received your fertilizing potion? It must have happened due to old magic." commented Lucius. "Is that what this party is about? You want to announce the pregnancy?"

"Yes." said Sirius, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now that you know Severus is pregnant, you'd better behave yourself. If you upset him again, …"

"It won't happen. You have my word." reassured Lucius. "Congratulations are in order. There's no greater joy than holding your heir for the first time." he added with a warm smile.

"Thank you." said Severus, smiling back. "We really need to get ready for this thing. I'd imagine you want to see Narcissa and Draco before you leave."

"I do. But before you go I have one more thing to ask, since everyone is going to find out about your pregnancy by tomorrow, would it make a difference if I inform the dark Lord, now? It wouldn't hurt for me to win some favors with him."

"As long as you're careful about what you tell him I don't see a problem." said Severus before standing to his feet.

…

The dinner party was a success. It resulted in an article in the Daily Prophet and a load of congratulatory gifts the very next day. One of the gifts, though was rather unexpected. Right after breakfast, Tilda announced the arrival of Lucius.

"Master Malfoy is wanting to see sirs." she said. "He's waiting on the grounds."

"He's here again?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, Master. And he has a prisoner with him. That's why he can't come inside." explained the elf, hoping from one foot to the other.

"A prisoner?" repeated Severus in disbelief and turned to his husband. "You remember what he said last night? About testing the ceremony?"

"Bloody hell." swore Sirius. "Let's go see what he's up to." he said.

With that, they made their way to the grounds to find Lucius pacing near the lake. Someone was lying near his feet, bound and unconscious.

"Peter?!" exclaimed Sirius as he recognized the prisoner. "Are you crazy? What have you done to him?"

"Don't get sentimental, Black. The man's a Death Eater. He spies for the dark Lord and tells him about all of Dumbledore's moves and his order." sneered Lucius. "And I haven't done anything to him, I just stun him. Didn't want to do damage that could interfere with our test."

"Peter a spy? This can't be. He's … he's harmless."

Lucius snorted and lifted Pettigrew's sleeve to reveal the mark. "He might be a sniveling coward but he's anything but harmless. Perhaps you'd like to see for yourself." he said, and took a vial filled with memories out of his robe's pocket before handing it to Sirius.

"Let me get this straight. You just decide to kidnap a Death Eater and bring him here, a spy no less! Weren't you thinking? If the dark Lord finds out, he'll have your head!" snapped Severus. He was furious.

"I'm not an idiot despite what you think." said Lucius, keeping calm with effort. "I was careful. I saw him in Diagon Alley by accident. I lured him into a corner with a spell and then took him. You need someone to practice on. I saw an opportunity and took it, I knew you wouldn't."

"I can't just use someone like that." protested Severus.

"You're the one who was so sure the ceremony worked. I'd like to stay and chat but it's not wise for me to linger. Whatever you do, don't free him. It wouldn't bode well for any of us." said Lucius and disapparated.

"I'm not sure I want to watch these." Sirius told him, staring at the vial in his hand. "How could he do this?" he asked in defeat.

"I don't know Sirius." answered Severus, running a hand through his hair. "Lucius is right. We can't let him go, we have to keep him until we figure out what to do with him. I don't want him at the manner, though."

"We'll put him in the stables for now." said Sirius.


	91. Chapter 91

Chapter 91: The Family Meeting

Summary: Severus and Sirius make plans to deal with Peter.

Remus made his way to Severus' office so that he could floo to Prince Manor. Severus hadn't shown up for work that day and Remus was a little worried that it might have something to do with the baby. The urgent massage he had received from Sirius didn't do much to calm his nerves either. The man had asked him to drop by 'at his earliest convenience' and Remus knew Sirius only got this formal when he was nervous.

Bracing himself for the worst he picked up a handful of floo powder and dropped it into the fire, yelling his destination. A moment later he was standing in the familiar study. "What's wrong? Are you OK? Is something wrong with the baby?" he asked as soon as his eyes landed on Severus.

"There's nothing wrong with her. She's fine." answered Severus. He always referred to his child as female. "Something else has come up."

"Thank Merlin! I was so worried." said Remus, relief washing over him. "What was so urgent then, that couldn't wait until lunch time?"

"We've discovered something that concerns the order of the phoenix. We figured we should talk to you since you're involved with the order business." explained Sirius.

"I'll do what I can. What do you need?" said Remus.

"Do you have reason to believe that there could be a spy in the order?"

"How do you know about that?" asked Remus, his eyebrows rising.

"We'll tell you in a moment." answered Sirius. "Is it public knowledge between order members or is it just a suspicion?"

"I'd say it's public knowledge. There's been information leakage for a few months and everyone has noticed."

"That's good." murmured Sirius.

"How is that good? What is going on?"

"We know who the mole is. It's Peter."

"Peter?! Are you out of your mind?" exclaimed Remus. This had to be a joke.

Sirius sighed and took a vial out of his pocket. "We have someone on the inside. They gave us memories from a few Death Eater meetings. It shows Peter reporting … and torturing muggles." he said slowly, as if talking to a child.

"Peter is a Death Eater." whispered Remus numbly, slumping down in a chair. He had come here expecting the worst, but he was taken off guard. He couldn't believe it. Then again, there had been clues. "It sort of makes sense. He's always asking about you two, I've never told him much, of course but he always asks. And he's gotten close to James, again. He's been very helpful with Harry and he's become friends with Lily. I still can't believe he's capable of something like this." Remus ranted on.

"We've always underestimated him." agreed Sirius.

"There's another thing you should know." said Severus. "We have Pettigrew here."

"What? He's here?"

"Yes. It's a long story how he got to be in our custody, but we need to keep him here and we know people are going to start looking for him soon."

"Why do you want to keep him? Why not just hand him over to the Aurors?" asked Remus, frowning.

"We don't have concrete evidence against him. All we have is these memories and if we show them to the Aurors, we'd be putting our inside man in danger." explained Sirius.

"What about the dark mark? If he has one, it would be enough to get him arrested."

"He has the mark but … we're thinking of removing it." said Severus. "Don't ask." he added quickly, wincing a bit.

Remus ran a hand over his face in frustration. That was too much information to receive in five minutes. "What do you want me to do?"

"We've decided to let the order members know that Peter had been spying on them. They deserve to know and this way, they won't be too keen on finding him." started Sirius. "We're going to show the memories to a selected few that the other members look up to, People who we can trust wouldn't use it against our inside man." he continued.

"That means no Aurors." said Severus.

"Right." murmured Remus, racking his brain. "I still think you should let James see them. I know he's an Auror but his word carries a lot of weight in the order and he'd never believe it if he doesn't see it with his own eyes."

"No, not Potter!" snapped Severus. He did that quite often these days due to his mood swings. "I don't trust that jerk, he'll do something stupid. We'll have Lily see them. He'd believe his wife's word, wouldn't he?"

"He would." agreed Remus "And so would the Longbottoms and a few others but the one you really need to convince is Dumbledore. I don't imagine you'd want him involved, so I think the next best thing would be McGonagall. You can also count on Ted Tonks."

"That should do it." said Sirius. "We'll give you the memories. Just tell everyone you've gotten them from a source you don't wish to reveal and have them meet you at McGonagall's office and once everyone's seen them give the memories back to us."

Remus nodded in agreement.

Sirius took a shrunken pensive out of the desk drawer and put it on the table in front of him along with the memories and a sealed box. "This one is the Horcrux." he said, pointing to the box.

"You and Lisa are still good to go check those locations?" asked Severus.

"Yes. We'll go tonight."

"Good. Remember to be cautious and don't take any chances. If you find a Horcrux, don't touch it without protective gloves and if you see anything strange just walk away."

"I know Severus, we've been over this. We'll have a look around and if there's any protection involved we'll get the others." reassured Remus.

"Thank you for everything, Remus." said Severus sincerely.

"No problem." he answered, putting the items in his backpack and getting to his feet. "You know, the Johnsons have been asking about you. You guys should go visit them."

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've seen them." commented Sirius. "Be safe, Remus."

"See you, guys." said Remus and flooed away.

…..

"That's one down. Ready for the family meeting?" asked Sirius, when Remus disappeared into the fireplace.

"I guess." answered Severus, uneasily. His grandfather had asked for a meeting that morning, most likely after discovering Pettigrew in the stables. Sirius and he had agreed to tell them the truth. There was no point in lying and they could hopefully help resolve this.

Sirius held his hand as they walked to the drawing room. All the elders were already there. It pleased Severus to see his mother sitting beside her siblings instead of brooding in a corner.

"Sorry if we kept you waiting." said Severus as he sat down in his usual seat.

"You're here, now. Care to explain what is going on?" asked Septimius, pressing his lips together.

Severus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "The man in the stables is a Death Eater. His name is Peter Pettigrew." he started.

"I see. Why is he here? Am I correct to assume Lord Malfoy has brought him here? You met with him after breakfast."

"Yes, Lucius brought him here. As to why … we've been working on a ritual. It's meant to reverse the dark mark, so that we can give those who regret joining the Death Eaters a chance at redemption and Lucius got it into his head that we needed someone to test it on."

"And he wants you to use Pettigrew as your guinea pig?" asked Noreen, bluntly.

"Precisely."

"So that's why you've turned the basement into a ritual chamber." said Alan, nodding to himself.

Severus blushed a little. "Yes." he answered, shifting in his chair. "I'm still hesitant about this. It wouldn't be right to do it against his will."

"I think we should try out the ritual, to know what to expect. We know it wouldn't hurt him and it's nowhere near what he deserves. Peter's a mole. He spies on Dumbledore's people and reports to Voldemort about their every move." said Sirius.

"This ritual of yours could be useful." commented Septimius. "This so called Lord Voldemort has no power without his followers and if you could get some of them to back down, it would weaken him greatly. And for the record, you must do the ritual at least once or you'll end up making a fool of yourself."

"Father is right. If you remove this one's mark it would also encourage the others to go through with it." added Alan.

"And what are we supposed to do with him afterwards?" asked Severus.

"We could keep him for a while, see if he'll be of use. Or we could just wipe his memory and send him on his merry way. The best way to get rid of him though, is to out him to his friends and let them deal with the little rat." proposed Kathleen.

"We've already made plans to out him. If all of you think we should do this, we'll perform the ritual tonight." said Severus.

As they all announced their agreement, Severus stared at the ceiling, thinking of the little island surrounded by Inferi.

"Something else on your mind, dear?" asked Eileen. "Remember what healer Moon said, you should open up to your family. It'll make you feel better."

"I know." he said, smiling at his mother. Healer Moon was his mother's therapist and had asked him to join in on their sessions once a week. The man was quite annoying in Severus' opinion, but he seemed to know what he was doing and had helped Eileen a great deal.

"If there's something, you should tell us. We're all here to help." said Alan.

Severus frowned. He still had no idea how they were going to get the necklace or how to remove the curse from the ring, once they found it. With his pregnancy and everything else that had been going on, he had his plate full as it was. It would be nice to have some help and his relatives had handled the Pettigrew thing way better that he had expected. Still, he didn't want to endanger them.

"There are other things we're doing against the dark Lord but we don't want to get you involved. It's dangerous." he told them finally.

"You don't give us enough credit, young Lord. The Princes pride themselves in being competent witches and wizards." said Septimius sharply, obviously offended. "Besides, as the head of the household your actions will be affecting us either way. I for my part rather be involved than be kept in the dark." he continued, all the while glaring at him.

Severus looked at his aunts and uncle's determined faces before turning to look at Sirius.

"If they want to help, we should let them." said his husband.

Severus nodded. "What I'm about to tell you, shouldn't leave this room." he started and went on to tell them about the Horcruxes and what they had done so far. He left out most of the unnecessary details, telling them enough to know what they were dealing with.

His relatives listened quietly. By the end Eileen looked nervous but the others seemed to be deep in thought, probably molding everything over in their heads.

"You couldn't have gathered all this information by yourself. Is this what your visions have been about?" asked Septimius after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes, for the most part." answered Severus, truthfully.

"This house elf you mentioned, he could take us directly to that island without having to face the other protections. We could get a sample of the potion and then figure out what to do from there." said Kathleen.

"Lucius has agreed to get us the location of the island but I don't think he'd be willing to give us his house elf."

"We could give him access to one of our own elves in exchange."

"You wouldn't have said that if you knew how the Malfoys treat their house elves." said Sirius.

"We'll have the elf show Tilda and Tim the location. This way we can go there any time we want." suggested Alan.

"You can't keep going there!" snapped Severus and took a deep breath to compose himself. "It could attract the dark Lord's attention. We can't let him find out we're after his Horcruxes."

"We'll have him distracted, then." said Septimius, calmly. "It's time you claimed the Prince seats at the wizengamot. You're ready."


	92. Chapter 92

Chapter 92: The Ritual

Summary: Severus and Sirius remove Peter's dark mark.

Notes: Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I hope you like the new chapters :D

...

Sirius stepped inside the stable. He raised his wand as he approached Peter. They had all underestimated the man and there was no telling what he was truly capable of.

"Who's there?" squealed Peter and jerked on his spot on the floor, knocking over the tray that lay at his feet. He had already made a mess of himself, his face and neck were covered in food since he had been forced to eat his lunch blindfolded and with his hands tied behind his back, and now he had food all over his robes as well.

Sirius stared down at his old friend for a moment before vanishing the tray. "Why?" he asked, unable to stop himself. "What went through your head? How did you convince yourself that it was alright to spy on your friends?"

"S ...Sirius? Help me! They've kidnapped me. I didn't do anything, I swear! You have to help me." pleaded Peter. Tears started to run down his dirty face.

"What exactly do you expect me to do?"

"You can help get me out of here. I know you can. Everyone knows how smart you are." said Peter. Sirius could recall hearing the same kind of flattery from him many times when they were at school. "They've put on some kind of spell that doesn't let me change into wormtail. You can cancel it, right? I'll do the rest." Peter continued, a hopeful tone to his voice.

"I was the one who put the spell on you in the first place, Peter. You're not going anywhere any time soon."

"What?! Why are you doing this? I told you, I haven't done anything. It's all lies. It's snivellus, isn't it? He's making you ..." Peter trailed of, howling in pain as Sirius kicked him hard in the shines.

"Shut your filthy mouth! I'll kill you right here if you talk about my husband like that again!" he shouted and kicked him once more for good measure.

"Stop! I'm sorry. Don't hit me again! I didn't mean anything by it, it's just habit. You used to call him that all the time, remember?" said Peter and tried to crawl away.

Sirius grabbed him by the robes and hauled him to his feet. He regretted nothing more than the way he had treated Severus in the past and he didn't like to be reminded of it. Peter moaned and whimpered as he was dragged into the Manor but Sirius didn't loosen his grip until they reached the basement.

Andrew and Severus looked up as they entered the ritual chamber and Andrew stepped forward, running his wand over Peter to check his vitals.

"Where … where are we? Wh … what is happening?" asked Peter in a panicked voice.

Sirius forced the man to his knees at the center of the room. "You're going to stay still or you'll end up regretting it. Understood?" he hissed.

Peter nodded his head fiercely, trembling all over.

"Let's get down to business." said Severus when Andrew nodded and stepped back. "How did you end up joining the Death Eaters, Pettigrew?" he asked.

"It's a lie. I'm not …"

"Don't bother denying it. Do you really think we haven't seen your mark?"

"M … mark? I … they forced me. You have to believe me!" said Peter, crouching where he sat to make himself look smaller.

Severus sighed. "It's pointless talking to him. I'm just going to cast the spell." he told them, raising his wand.

"Wait! I have information." exclaimed Peter. "He's after you. He's planning to get you at St. Mungo's."

"The little rat's lying. St. Mungo's is safe. You can't get in if you're planning to hurt someone." said Andrew confidently.

"Yeah, he's done nothing but lie ever since he got here." added Sirius.

"It's not a lie. I heard him myself. He's going to get some people in and once they see you there they'll attack you. I … I'm not explaining it right but it's true. Maybe if you untie my hands I could think better and remember what he said."

Severus waved his wand and the blindfold fell to the floor. "Look at me." he snapped as Peter's eyes darted around the room.

"Legilimens." he whispered, staring into the watery blue eyes.

They stayed like this for a few minutes until Severus lowered his wand. "It's true." he said, horror taking over his features.

"It can't be." murmured Andrew.

Sirius put a hand on his husband's shoulder and squeezed. "You Okay?" he whispered.

Severus nodded and took a deep breath. "Let's get this over with." he said, then squared his shoulders and raised his wand once again.

"No! Let me go. I can get more information. I swear!" pleaded Peter.

"You said they made you take the mark. Don't you wish you could reverse it?"

"I do. I wish it was gone."

"Then hold still." said Severus, coldly and started chanting. Sirius joined in a moment later. A bright purple fog raised from their wands, filling the room. The fog started spinning around Peter, consuming him, getting denser and denser until it suddenly vanished.

Andrew approached the now unconscious Peter and examine him. "The mark is definitely gone. His heart rate a bit down but he's fine." he announce. "I'll keep an eye on him for a while to see if anything changes." he continued as he levitated his patient.

"Thank you Andrew." said Severus, quietly.

"Don't mention it." answered Andrew and left the room with Peter hovering in the air in front of him.

As soon as he was gone Severus started pacing. "I thought it was safe at St. Mungo's." he said warily and put a protective hand over his stomach.

"How is he going to do it? What did you see?" asked Sirius, gently.

"Pettigrew was reporting in front of the dark Lord, there were two other Death Eaters in there. When he was done, the dark Lord told him to leave. He did go out but turned into a rat and went back inside through the wall. Apparently, a few of the Death Eaters are supposed to be sent … on some kind of mission. They're expecting a lot of casualties and the dark Lord wants them all to be admitted to St. Mungo's. They'd be at the spell damage ward which is close to my lab. The dark Lord expects his followers to capture me, since they know how much their Lord is eager to get his hands on me. You see? They wouldn't come in planning the attack, but they will end up doing it." explained Severus. "We have no way of stopping this."

"You're going to have to stay away from there." said Sirius.

"I can't quit my job!" snapped Severus. "Just because I'm pregnant …"

"Honey, this doesn't have anything to do with you being pregnant. And you don't have to quit, you can still do your research and brewing at the Manor."

"It's not just that. Someone has to check on the patients. Remus can't stay there full time and other healers are busy with their own work."

"We'll donate some money to the hospital so that they can hire more people for the research department."

"I guess that could work." murmured Severus. "I can't imagine staying home all day."

"We're going to the wizengamot next week, remember? I'd imagine we'll be very busy there."

"Yeah, it could take months." said Severus and stopped pacing. "We should go to bed early. I'm exhausted."

"Me, too. It's been a long day." agreed Sirius, taking his hand. "We'll go straight to bed after dinner."


	93. Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Revelation

Summary: Remus delivers Peter to the order of the phoenix.

Remus stood nervously in a corner, waiting for the meeting to start. He was fighting the urge to bite his nails when Lily waved him over.

"Hey, Remus. How are your studies going?" asked Lily in her usual friendly manner.

"Hi, Lils." he greeted, glad for the distraction. "Things are going fine. How's Harry?"

"He was really sick a couple of days ago but he's doing better, now."

"Oh, what happened?" asked Remus, frowning a bit.

"The poor guy was out of sorts and had a touch of fever. I took him to St. Mungo's to make sure he was Ok. Turned out it was just a cold." explained Lily. "Anyways, while I was there I went to see Severus but he wasn't in his office and one of the healers said he wasn't coming in. Do you think he was avoiding me?" she added.

Remus was quiet for a moment. He knew why Severus was staying away from St. Mungo's, he also knew it wasn't to become public knowledge. "Why would you think he was avoiding you?" he finally asked.

"I don't know." said Lily with a sigh. "I haven't seen him since his wedding. I only ever saw him at order meetings and now he doesn't come anymore. I don't have the time and energy to seek him out, you know. I haven't even gotten a decent night of sleep since Harry was born."

"I know." said Remus, nodding sympathetically. "Severus is pretty busy these days, too. There's his research and his responsibilities as the Lord and he's still getting used to being pregnant."

"Do you see him often?" asked Lily

"Well, we do work together and he's my mentor." answered Remus, shrugging. "You could always write to him." he suggested.

"That's not the same." said Lily, sighing again. "I wish things would go back to when we were friends for real. He was always there for me and it made everything better. I thought Sev was just mad at me, but it feels like he doesn't want to be my friend anymore."

"I'm sure it's not like that. You're both busy with your own lives." reassured Remus.

Lily was about to say something else when Dumbledore arrived and they all move to the dinning room.

"It's good to see everyone. How about we get to the reports?" said Dumbledore when all of them were seated and gestured to Frank Longbottom.

"Yes, of course. As you know …" started Frank but Remus cut him off.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you Frank, but I have something urgent to discuss." said Remus, smiling apologetically and pausing to make sure everyone was paying attention. "I received a note last night which led me to find Peter Pettigrew." he continued.

"What? You found him?"

"Where is he, now?"

"He's right here." said Remus and took a small cage out of his robes' pocket along with the note. He saw James pale at the sight of the rat. McGonagall raised an eyebrow, while Dumbledore looked thoughtful. Everyone else seemed confused.

"Is this a joke?" snapped Shacklebolt.

"No, I'm one hundred percent serious. This is Peter in his animagus form. I actually know a spell that could prevent him from changing but in this case it was easier to carry him in his rat form."

"Peter Petigrew, an animagus?!" exclaimed Alice Longbottom in shock. "But that takes years of training. He couldn't possibly be capable of this."

"We didn't think he would be capable of spying on us either, but as it turned out he is." said Lily, shuddering a bit.

"It does look like the bastard." commented Moody, staring at the small creature.

Dumbledore waved his wand over the cage and nodded. "Yes, it is him." he announced. "I would like to have a look at that note, if you would Remus?"

"Yes, certainly." said Remus and gave him the parchment. He concentrated on his memory of receiving the note and finding Peter in Knockturn Alley as Dumbledore looked him in the eyes.

"What animal do YOU turn into, Mr. Potter?" asked McGonagall as the Headmaster started examining the parchment.

"I … I don't know what you mean, Professor." mumbled James.

"Sure you do, young man. You were as talented as Mr. Prince in transfiguration at school. If he could learn animagus transfiguration and even teach Mr. Pettigrew, it's a given that you've learned as well."

"How do you know about Sirius?"

"He registered after school and you should have done the same." said McGonagall, sternly.

"Is this true, James? How come you've never told me?" asked Lily.

"I don't know. It was something we did together at school and kept to ourselves." answered James, sheepishly.

"That's probably how he spied on us. Being small is awfully convenient for that." said Moody with a snort. "I'll personally make sure you register tomorrow, Potter."

"Yes, sir." murmured James.

"I'm not an animagus. Could never do it." declared Remus when everyone turned to him.

"We'll talk more about this after the meeting, boys." said Dumbledore, looking grave. "For now, let's focus on the matter at hand." he added and pointed to the cage.

"We should interrogate him. We need to know what he's told the other side and learn whatever information he has about them. There's still some veritaserum left, isn't there?" asked Ted Tonks.

"Yeah, we've got enough." answered his wife.

"Very well." agreed Dumbledore. "Now, we'd better get to the reports." he said, gesturing to Frank and leaning back in his chair.

Things progressed smoothly after that, even though everyone seemed preoccupied by the rat. When the meeting came to a close, Dumbledore asked Remus and James to join him in the library.

"You boys owe me an explanation." said the man, after casting a privacy spell.

James cleared his throat. "There's really not much to explain, Albus. We were all fascinated by transfiguration. I still remember the first time Professor McGonagall turned into a cat our first year …" he rambled on.

"I'm more than one hundred years old, James and I've been a Professor for longer than you've been alive." Dumbledore interrupted him. "Werewolves don't infect animals, that's why you became animagi. What I need to know is what you did with your ability."

"We didn't really do anything. It was just a percussion." said James, squaring his shoulders.

"Yes, you did!" snapped Remus. "They would take Moony out and lead him to the forbidden forest to … to watch him hunt. That's why Severus started to follow us around. He knew we were up to something, with James, Sirius and Peter getting out after hours every month and me going to visit my mother and being sick when I came back. He wanted to find out what we did, he wanted proof because no one ever believed him. So, James thought we should scare him off." he continued, words pouring out of him.

"Hey! We did all that to help you, so that you would stop hurting yourself during the full moon." protested James, narrowing his eyes in irritation.

"You took Remus out of the shack?" asked Dumbledore in deadly quiet voice.

"I … we just wanted to h … help him." stuttered James, taking a step back.

"You took a fully grown werewolf hunting? In a school full of children?"

"We could handle him, alright? Sirius turns into a huge dog and my form is a stag."

"You're a father, James! Take some responsibility." snapped Dumbledore before turning to him. "And you, Remus …"

"I know, Headmaster. I'm so sorry. It was stupid what we did. I shouldn't have let them do this." murmured Remus and looked down in shame.

"That's right. You shouldn't have. You were given a chance to get an education and you shouldn't have let your friends endanger you and others. And what was that bit about Mr. Snape? You all told me then that it was a joke Sirius thought of on the spot and I took you at your word."

"Remus didn't know. We told him afterwards." said James with a sigh. "We wanted to scare Snape. Sirius was supposed to send him there and I was supposed to pull him out of the tunnel. We didn't want to hurt him, it was just an accident."

"I am speechless." said Dumbledore, looking much older than usual. "I put my trust in the four of you. I was shocked to hear Mr. Pettigrew was a spy at first, but now …" he trailed off, stroking his beard.

"Don't talk like that, Albus. We were stupid school boys, then. Peter … I don't know how he ended up like this but the rest of us are on the side of the light. You know that." said James.

"Yes, I do." agreed Dumbledore and nodded to himself. "Everybody makes mistakes. What's important is that we learn from them."

...

Notes: For those of you who don't remember, Sirius registered as an animagus so that he can get into the university and go to Germany with Severus.


	94. Chapter 94

Chapter 94: The Wizengamot

Summary: Severus claims the Prince seats.

Severus stood in the study, looking out the window. The wetter was starting to get cold and the flower beds were nowhere as cheerful as they had been in the summer.

"Severus?" called Lucius Malfoy from the doorway.

"Come in." he said, sitting down by the fire.

"You're looking well. Glowing, even." said Lucius with a warm smile as he sat next to him. "Have you started to show, yet?" he asked.

"Not really." answered Severus, looking down at his mostly flat abdomen.

"How far along are you?"

"Eight weeks."

"It could be a while, then." said Lucius. "Where's your other half? He's always standing beside you like a hawk."

"He's … busy with something." answered Severus, shifting in his chair. "I asked you to come, so that we could discuss the dark mark. We removed Pettigrew's without problem. Andrew was here and checked him over before and after the ritual. He says the process is draining but harmless."

"That's good. Where is he, now?"

"Pettigrew? We gave him over to Dumbleldore's order after my grandfather casted oblivion on him, the last thing he will remember is going to Diagon Alley." explained Severus.

Lucius raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on that. "What's next?" he asked.

"I'm going to retake the Prince seats at the wizengamot. We've talked to Sirius' parents and they're going to back us, so we'll have the Black family's votes. The question is, are you going to remove your mark now or wait? Because if you do it now, we will have the Malfoy family votes as well, otherwise you're going to have to vote against us."

"You want me to remove the mark right now, then?"

"It's up to you." said Severus, leaning forward in his chair. "I've told you before, I'm not trying to establish the pureblood rules or anything like that. All I'm after is peace. So, what's it going to be?" he asked.

"I'm not certain." said Lucius, playing with his cane. "I need to think things over." he added.

Severus looked out the window again, he could see a few people walking up to the Manor. He felt relief wash over him as he recognized Sirius among them. The group had gone to the island where the necklace was placed and he had been quite worried. "The Dark Lord is sending some of his followers on a mission." he said, matter of fact.

"How do you know about that?" asked Lucius sharply.

"I don't know anything about the mission, all I know is that he's expecting a lot of casualties. I thought it might affect your decision." answered Severus, raising to his feet. "I'll send in Narcissa, perhaps you'd like to discuss this with her. If you're willing, we can perform the ritual tonight." he continued.

"Fair enough. And yes, I would like to talk to my wife." said Lucius.

Severus nodded and exited the room. He sent after Narcissa before making his way to the drawing room where Sirius and his cousins were waiting for him.

"How did it go? Did you take the sample?" he asked, anxiously.

"No, we couldn't. There's a charm placed on the potion that requires you to drink it, if you don't it'll disappear back into the basin after a couple of minutes." said Alexander. "We performed some tests on the spot, instead." he added and pointed to his brother in law, Michael, who was a potions brewer.

"I checked for poisons and didn't find anything, there are some toxins but they don't seem to be fatal. I did break down the potion to the main ingredients, though. Do you have any idea what it is? " Michael told him and put a few rolls of parchment on the table.

Severus sat down next to Sirius and started to look through the parchments as he leaned against his husband. "You're right. It's not poison." he said. "This seems to be some kind of narcotic." he announce after a few minutes.

"Really?" asked Daniel, smirking. "Is it anything good?"

"From what Dobby has reported it makes you remember your worst memories." said Sirius.

Severus nodded. "Narcotics affect the brain, perhaps this one affects a specific part of the brain and makes you think negative thoughts." he explained.

"Is it safe to drink?" asked Alexander.

"In theory it's safe to take a small dose and it will wear off after a while but … when we're talking about a basin filled with potion, it could damage the brain and other organs. We already know it creates a burning sensation, which can't be good."

"We can all go together again and each drink some of it. We'll use sobering potion afterwards." suggested Daniel.

"That's a good idea. It's best if one of us doesn't drink, though." added Sirius.

"Alright, then." said Severus and put his head on Sirius's shoulder with a sigh.

"Also, we took the tiara there, it pointed to the basin when we casted the location spell, which means the necklace is definitely the next one." reported Alexander.

"That's good to know." murmured Severus. Remus and Lisa had taken the necklace to the locations Slughorn had suggested to see if they could find the next one, but they hadn't found anything. They had to do it again with the necklace, it seemed.

"How did it go with Lord Malfoy?" asked Michael.

"He says he has to think about it. He's talking to his wife, right now. We should give them a little time." answered Severus.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Narcissa walked in. "He's going to do it, tonight." she said. "He went to the Malfoy Manor to take some things and lock up the house."

"Thank you, Cissy. We'll make preparations in a moment, then." said Severus. He wasn't ready to leave Sirius' warm embrace just yet.

…

The ritual went pretty much like it had the last time, except that Lucius didn't faint in the end even though he was exhausted. Narcissa was more than happy to take him to her quarters. It was the first time Lucius was allowed beyond the study. Severus had not been comfortable with him walking around the Manor while he had a dark mark and was, in Severus' opinion, potentially trackable by the dark Lord.

The next morning Severus put on his best robes and pulled his hair back in a ponytail. He was careful to take an anti-nausea potion, it was an important day for the Prince family and he didn't wish to get sick. Sirius accompanied him to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement but he wasn't going to come inside with him.

"You can't go in there looking like this." Sirius whispered to him when he was about to enter wizengamot's Headquarter. "You look like you're walking to your own execution. Take a breath, be confident."

"Easier said than done." grumbled Severus. He took a deep breath, nonetheless and stood taller.

"Much better." said Sirius and squeezed his hand. "I'll be waiting for you in the lobby. Good luck, love."

"Thanks." answered Severus and entered the room.

The Headquarter was a large room and had a high ceiling. The chairs around the room were occupied by about fifty witches and wizards. At first nobody noticed him, some of them were whispering to each other and others seemed to be reading a report, but after a minute or two a dark haired wizard looked up and gasped upon seeing him. At that, everyone turned to him and silence fell on the room.

Severus stood his ground and looked at each of the members in the eyes. "I believe my seat is in the middle on the right side." he said, finally.

And old witch, who was sitting in the chair Severus was referring to stared at him for a moment, then chuckled. "So it is." she murmured and nudged the person next to her. A few of the members changed seats until the spot became empty.

Severus inclined his head in thanks and sat down, trying not to squirm under their gaze. As he sat, his chair glowed a faint silver and the gem on his family ring shined brighter.

"Welcome to the wizengamot, Lord Prince." said the witch and the others echoed her words.


	95. Chapter 95

Chapter 95: Rita Skeeter

Summary: Severus and Sirius meet Rita Skeeter at the ministry.

Severus' first day at the wizengamot was challenging. The other members might have accepted him but they didn't make things easy. Even though his grandfather had gone over the proceedings with him, Severus had a hard time trying to keep up with everything that was going on around him.

He was relieved when the meeting finally came to a close, about three hours later, and rushed out to find his husband.

"How was your first day?" asked Sirius, when Severus finally found him in the crowded lobby.

"Horrid." answered Severus shortly, then sighed. "Not exactly horrid, but it was much more difficult than I expected." he added.

"You'll do better next time." said Sirius and leaned forward to kiss him.

Severus returned the kiss wholeheartedly. He moved his hands to Sirius' hair to keep him in place and parted his lips, melting into the kiss.

Sirius pulled away all too soon. Severus was about to protest, when he realized they weren't alone, any more. A man, holding a huge black camera that was smoking slightly stood next to them, looking awfully smug and a woman with curly blond hair was approaching them.

"Lord Prince! It's a pleasure to meet you." said the woman, sweetly. "My name is Rita Skeeter and this is Bozo, my photographer. We're with the daily Prophet." she added, and as if on cue the photographer took another picture of them.

"We were just leaving, Ms. Skeeter." said Sirius and put a hand on Severus' back, urging him to move.

"Please, call me Rita!" exclaimed the woman. She ignored the fact that they were walking away from her and fell into step beside them. "What brings you to the ministry? You're not facing any problems with the law, I hope."

"No, we're not."

"I couldn't help but notice you exiting the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, earlier." she insisted, turning to Severus.

"My husband already told you, we don't have any legal problems."

"That's good to hear." said Skeeter, her magical quill scribing at full speed over her clipboard. "Let's talk about your pregnancy, how's the baby doing?" she asked.

"She's fine."

"She?"

"We're hoping for a girl. Now, if you'll excuse us." said Sirius, as they reached the door, and abruptly apparated both of them to the Manor.

Severus held onto his husband as soon as their feet reached the ground again, fighting dizziness.

"Are you alright?" asked Sirius.

"Dizzy." Severus whispered, squeezing his eyes shut to push back the headache that was taking over him.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have apparated like that. I wanted to get us out of there. I'm so sorry."

"Fine. Just …need to … sit." said Severus and let Sirius guide him to a chair.

"What the hell happened?" snapped a familiar voice that he couldn't quite place.

"He says he's dizzy. It's my fault. There was a journalist and a photographer at the ministry, I apparated us to get away from them. I did it too quick, I think." he heard Sirius explain.

"Does he have a potion for that?" asked a woman.

"The … the dark blue one." Severus answered, burying his face in his hands.

Sirius called Tilda and asked the house elf to bring the potion.

A moment later, Severus felt something cool press against his lips and took a swallow. Just like that, the dizziness vanished and the headache lessened considerably. He kept his eyes closed a bit before looking up. Sirius was crouching in front of his chair with Lucius and Narcissa standing behind him and Tilda was whirling her hands in a corner. They all looked worried.

"I'm better." Severus told them, smiling half-heartedly to ease their mind.

"I'm really sorry. I should have at least given you a heads up before apparating." said Sirius.

"It's alright, love. I'm fine, now." reassured Severus. "Actually, I think I'd feel better if I eat something. I was too nervous to eat much for breakfast." he continued as he carefully rose to his feet.

"Tilda is putting lunch on the table, right away!" exclaimed the house elf happily and disappeared.

"To the dinning room, then?" asked Lucius. "We were heading there, ourselves."

"Yes." agreed Severus. "I wanted to change first, but I'm too hungry to wait." he added with a sigh. He could already smell grilled chicken and steamed carrots.

"Why where you running away like that from a journalist?" asked Narcissa, as they started walking.

"It was that awful woman, Rita Skeeter. You know, the one who wrote that biography for Armando Dippet." answered Sirius.

"I believe the book was a best seller." commented Lucius.

"Only because she trashed him all she could." said Sirius. "She started asking if we had gotten in trouble with the law."

"You what?" asked Allen sharply as they entered the dinning room.

"This journalist, Rita Skeeter saw Severus coming out of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and wanted to know what we were doing there." explained Sirius.

"I've heard of her." murmured Septimius.

"We got out of there as soon as we could. They got a shot of us kissing, though."

"That's not too bad." said Kathleen. "Severus, dear eat something. You're pale as chalk." she added, turning to him.

Severus nodded and started to fill his plate. He focused on his food as he ate, feeling his strength coming back little by little. He was half way through his meal when he heard someone clear their throat and looked up.

"How was your meeting at the wizengamot?" asked Septimius.

"It was … fine. The magic recognized me, like you said it would, and the other members accepted that, but the meeting could have gone better. I don't think politics is my strong suit." admitted Severus. "I'm pretty sure the others were making things complicated on purpose, like they wanted to throw me off." he added, thoughtfully.

Lucius snorted. "I bet you're right. I've been dealing with those old coots since my father passed away. They don't accept anyone that easily." he said. "I was going to wait for my son to grow up to pass on my knowledge of dealing with the wizengamot, but I can give you a few pointers for the next meeting."

"Perhaps if you came next time …"

"I'll probably be there, but you need to do this on your own."

"Lord Malfoy is right. Politics may not be your strong suit but sooner or later, you need to learn." said Septimius.

"Alright." murmured Severus and busied himself with his lunch, not in the mood for more discussion. He smiled, though when he felt Sirius put a hand on his knee in support.

…

The next morning at breakfast the daily Prophet arrived and sure enough, there was an animated picture of them kissing on the front page. Severus stared at the paper in disbelief. 'The Miracle Child.' read the title, right above their picture. Skeeter had rambled on for two pages about Severus' unplanned pregnancy, the Prince family's gift of visions and the fact that Severus was certain his child was going to be a girl. She had even interviewed a patient from St. Mungo's who had overheard him refer to his child as female.

"It's my own fault. I always talk about Adelaide as if she's already been born and I did it yesterday in front of that woman." said Severus, lowering the paper.

"Why are you so upset? Something like this could actually work in your favor." asked Lucius, a tone of irritation to his voice.

"It could have been worse." said Noreen. "Her article is actually fairly accurate. She's done a through research about our family history."

"Yes, it's a fine article." agreed Septimius.

"I like the pictures. You look handsome in all of them. There's even one from your honeymoon." added Eileen, beaming.

"I didn't see that." said Severus and picked up his paper again. There was a picture of the two of them siting in a café in Venice, holding hands and another one from their wedding.

Sirius leaned forward to look. "She must have been planning to write an article about us for a while." he commented.

"I agree. We're lucky that's what she decided to write." said Alan.

"I don't want people talking about my child like this before she's even born!" snapped Severus. "And I don't want people knowing about the visions. They're going to expect me to … I don't know, do it on cue or something." he rambled on, his mood turning more sour by the minute.

"Calm down, Severus. You're getting yourself worked up again." said Sirius, gently.

Severus scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, but didn't say anything. He knew stress wasn't good for the baby.

"Sev?" called Kayla, hesitantly after a few minutes. "I've got a letter from Regulus. He says there's been a break in at the ancient magic museum in Rom." she said.

"What happen?" asked Severus, frowning.

"The thieves stole a tomb in Latin about old magic and they struck when there was some sort of gala in the lower levels, so nobody noticed them." answered Kayla. "The museum is heavily warded, it seems. The wards act like Cruciatus curse and injure anyone who crosses them." she continued.

"It was the dark Lord, I'm sure of it. This must have been the secret mission he was planning. He knew about the wards, that's why he expected a lot of casualties." said Lucius.

"Oh, dear. Do you think he's planning to attack the ministry? A lot of the protection there is old magic." commented Narcissa.

"Hogwarts, too." added Lucius.

"And the Prince Manor." whispered Severus.

"Just because he has one book, doesn't mean he's going to get through any ward he wants." protested Sirius.

"No, it doesn't. But it'll give him leverage." said Septimius. "There will be a battle, soon."


	96. Chapter 96

Chapter 96: The Parkinsons

Summary: Kayla and Andrew's courtship starts. Also, they discuss their plan for retrieving the necklace.

Severus was proud of himself. He had gotten better at dealing with the members of the wizengamot throughout the week, thanks to Lucius' tips. Dumbledore had yet to make an appearance and Severus was in no way ready to face him but other than that he was doing fine. He had learned how important it was to say the right thing at right moment and had gotten better at 'reading people', as Lucius had put it. The other man had instructed him to put his lessons in use in his day to day encounters so that it would become second nature to him and Severus could already see the results.

Right now for example, he was sitting in the living room with the Parkinsons, pretending to be interested in the nonsense he heard. He was nodding and making comments in the appropriate time, like a true politician, and he hadn't fidgeted even once. As the Lord of the Prince Manor he was in charge of handling the family business, even though his family helped him in almost every way. So, he had arranged a courtship for Kayla and Andrew and he had to be the glue that held everything together.

"Kayla dear, have you done any additional education after high school?" asked Mrs. Parkinson when her husband finally ceased talking about their family business and how wealthy they were.

"Yes, I have tutors for French literature and ancient runes. I'm also working on interpreting a few tomes." answered Kayla, shyly.

"Ah, that's a fine hobby, interpreting I mean. You have no obligations and you can still make some money out of it." said Mr. Parkinson, nodding. "I wish my son was as smart as you, madam and wouldn't have sealed his fate like this. When I saw his paycheck I couldn't believe …"

"Father, please." Andrew cut him off.

"You know your father's right, Andrew. You shouldn't have rushed into something like that." scolded his mother before turning to Severus. "His father had locked a position at the ministry for him, you see but Andrew signed up for healing and took his oath before even giving that job a try first."

"Perhaps it was for the best. Andrew is a very gifted healer." commented Severus, trying his best not to frown.

"Yes, healing is one of the most noble professions in the wizarding world." added Kayla's father.

"So is being a ministry official." retorted Mr. Parkinson.

"Of course." said Noreen and everyone fell quiet for a moment.

"From what I understand this is your first stay here. I hope you've found it to your liking." said Sirius, breaking the silence.

"Oh, yes. The Prince Manor is absolutely beautiful. Isn't it, Mathew?" responded Mrs. Parkinson.

"I agree. As important as it is to live in London, it's nice to get away for a while."

"We're glad to hear it." said Severus "Dinner will be served in an hour. We've prepared a guest room for you, if you'd like to rest." he continued, holding his breath in anticipation to be rid of them.

"That would be perfect. Thank you." said Mrs. Parkinson.

"We appreciate your hospitality." added Mr. Parkinson, raising to his feet.

"Sirius, would you show them the way?" Severus asked his husband, looking at him pleadingly.

Sirius frowned but nodded and turned to their guests. "This way." he said and led them out the door.

"Kayla, dear. Why don't you take Andrew to the library? Your brother is waiting there, I believe." suggested Noreen.

"Yes, mom." said Kayla with a smile and rushed out along with Andrew.

"Merlin! I've never met such pretentious people in my entire life." exclaimed Noreen as soon as they were out of the ear shot.

"I know what you mean, darling." agreed Joseph, her husband. "And the way they talk about their own son, it's appalling! The boy's a respected healer."

"I don't think I can tolerate them as in-laws." said Noreen, pacing the room.

"I know they're not exactly …" started Severus, struggling to find the right word. He sighed, giving up on his politic practice for the moment. "They're both very annoying. I don't want them around, either and you know I don't mean to push this wedding but I think Kayla and Andrew are a good couple and Andrew is a nice guy in spite of his parents." he continued, hesitantly.

Joseph snorted. "He is. I have no idea how he has turned out like this with those people as role models." he said.

"Nobody can choose their family." said Severus, knowingly. "You're going to be making the final decision, but try to put Kayla's happiness first."

"You're right, dear." agreed Noreen, looking at him fondly. "You make a fine Lord."

"Thank you, aunt Noreen." he said, blushing. He turned to the door when he saw Sirius come back.

"You owe me one, Sev." grumbled Sirius. "On the way to their room, they tried to get me to go in business with one of their relatives and gave me parenting advice."

Joseph snorted again at that.

"Sorry." said Severus, not really meaning it. "We should get to the study." he added and got to his feet.

"Yeah, we should go. I checked, everyone's already there."

"We'll see you at dinner." Severus announced to his aunt and uncle who nodded.

"I can't believe you left me with them, you know how much I hate purebloods like that. You could have come with me." said Sirius as they made their way down the corridor.

"Quit whining, Sirius. You're the one who's always telling me to ask you when I need help."

"Sure, now you listen to me." mumbled Sirius under his breath.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Tell you what, I'll reimburse you for all the favors you do when I get horny."

"What?!"

"They say it happens in the second trimester, and it will be safe to have sex then."

"Really?" asked Sirius, grinning.

"Yeah." answered Severus, smiling a little at his eagerness. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It has." agreed Sirius and gave him a kiss.

"Come on, we shouldn't keep them waiting." said Severus when they finally pulled away.

Most of their cousins were gathered in the study, talking among themselves. They all fell silent as soon as Severus and Sirius came in. There were three identical boxes on the coffee table. Severus sat down and started studying them.

They had discussed their plan to retrieve the horcrux in length and had come to the conclusion that they needed to replace the necklace right there when they took the original, otherwise they had to drink up the potion one extra time to put the fake horcrux in the basin. Sirius had made a necklace based on what Dobby had described and would be making adjustments when he saw the original one. Someone also had to cast the spells to forge the horcrux's magic when Sirius was done, which brought them to the boxes. Since nobody thought it was a good idea to take Severus to the island with them in his current condition, Sofia, Colin and Daniel who were the most competent in defense had each enchanted one of the boxes so that they could decide who was better at it.

"The one on the right." announced Severus after examining the fake horcruxes.

"That would be mine." said Daniel.

"Let's go over the plan again. You're good to go after dinner, right?"

"Yes, we're ready." confirmed Alexander.

"So, since I'm supposed to enchant the necklace, Sofia and Colin will be watching out for the inferi." started Daniel. "The three of us and Sirius will be with Tilda, who's going to get us in and out and we'll have others in pairs for the drinking. One person in each pair will be drinking from the potion and the other is supposed to keep an eye on their partner, make sure they don't drink too much and that they get home safe. Also, their house elf will be Tim."

"We'll switch up the pairs until all the potion is gone without anyone drinking twice." said Alexander.

"I can help take care of people when they come back." suggested Severus. It was supposed to Devante, Kayla and Kyle's job, since they were all too young to help with anything else, but he felt like he had to do something.

"You'd probably be asleep then and you're already brewing the sobering potion." said Sirius.

Severus glared at him. "I didn't know I had a bed time!" he snapped. "It's not like I can get any sleep, knowing you guys are there. And it's Friday, I don't have to go to the ministry tomorrow."

"Fine." said Sirius with a sigh.

"By the way, what did you think of Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson?" asked Alfie.

"They're OK." lied Severus, not wanting to get into that again. "Speaking of which, it's almost time for dinner." he added, as he checked his watch.

Sirius groaned. "You're going to owe me big time when this courtship is over." he whispered.

Severus smirked. "I know." he whispered back.


	97. Chapter 97

Chapter 97: The Inferi

Summary: The Prince cousins retrieve the necklace.

Sirius took a deep breath and held on to Tilda's hand as she apparated him and Daniel to the island. He closed his eyes for a moment when a cold wind suddenly blew at him. The potion in the basin casted a green light over the otherwise dark island, making it feel even colder than it was. Sofia and Colin stood guard opposite each other, looking at the lake intently and Alfie was kneeling in front of the basin, his husband Michael right beside him. Amelia and Frank were standing a bit farther, waiting for their turn.

Daniel waved her wand and conjured a glowing orb above their heads which illuminated the area. Sirius could now see the skeleton figures lying under the water, looking into nothingness with their lifeless eyes. They seemed to be pulling away from the light.

"Cheers!" said Alfie with a crooked smile and took his first drink of the potion. "Damn, this is vile." he murmured, stifling a cough and filled his cup again.

"Alright, Alf. That's enough." Michael told him, as Alfie started to tremble after drinking his third cup, and helped him to his feet before Tim took them both away.

The house elf returned a moment later with Alexander and Riley. Sirius heard Daniel swear under her breath and turned to look at the lake. The inferi looked more alive than dead now, most of them were sitting up in the water and a few started to crawl over to them.

"Incendio!" shouted Colin and conjured a small fire.

The inferi backed away at once upon seeing the flames, but they still looked alert. After that, with every pop of apparition the dead edged closer. Sirius and the others stood in tense silence as the basin emptied and conjured more fire to keep the creatures at bay. Perhaps their plan wasn't as bullet proof as they believed, Sirius thought. There was obviously too much happening, with the constant apparations and the number of the people involved. The lake contained an army of inferi and there was not much they could do to stop them.

"Sirius! You're up." called Daniel, drawing him out of his thoughts.

Sirius nodded. He took the fake necklace out of his pocket and approached the horcrux. It was a locket with an 'S' on it that resembled the Slytherin symbol.

"Good luck, guys." he heard Alexander say as he was taken home by a shell shocked house elf.

Sirius immediately started transfiguring the fake necklace as his eyes studied the original one. The sooner he was done, the sooner they could leave. It felt like hours had passed until he was satisfied with the results. "I'm done." he said hurriedly and handed the fake locket to Daniel.

Sirius paled as he looked around once more and raised his wand. They didn't have much time left. He wandered if they were going to make it at all.

…

Severus readied a calming draft, a sobering solution and a stomach soother as he waited for Alexander to arrive. He was the last one. The others were tended to and had mostly recovered from the effects of the potion.

A faint pop echoed over the walls as his eldest cousin finally arrived. Severus sighed in relief and instructed him to lie down on one of the beds they had conjured in the library. Alexander drank his potions without protest and fell sleep right after. He had done quite a few trips, each time accompanying a different cousin, which had obviously drained him.

When Severus was done he noticed Tim was sitting on the floor, rocking himself.

"What's wrong? What happened?" he asked urgently, his heart hammering wildly in his chest.

The house elf startled. "The dead." he breathed, his face a mask of terror.

"Take me there." ordered Severus.

That seemed to bring Tim out of his trace. "Please Master! …. The baby." he squeaked.

Severus hesitated for a second and ran his eyes around the room. Kyle was dosing off in a corner and Kayla and Devante were fussing over their patients, checking their temperature and pulse. "You'll take me right back if things get bad." he said finally and took the elf's hand.

Tim nodded solemnly "Tim will be protecting his master." he promised and apparated.

Severus gasped at the sudden cold and stood frozen for a moment, staring at the scene in front of him. Daniel was sitting in the middle, enchanting the fake necklace while Sirius, Colin and Sofia threw hexes at the inferi, stepping farther back every once in a while as the creatures clawed their way forward while tripping over one another. As instinct took over, Severus slashed his wand through the air in front of him with such force it make him light headed. His spell cut through the herd of inferi and bones flow in every direction. Suddenly a protective shield surrounded them, it was Tim Severus realized, he had his little arms up in the air and a determined look on his face.

"Severus! Go back." someone yelled.

Severus ignored the panicked voice and stood his ground. He repeating the spell again and again until he was out of breath and strength. Right then, Tilda appeared at his side. She held her palms in front of her and produced a wave of magic that sent the iferi back into the lake. Severus wasted no time, he started conjuring flames at the edge of the island and the others started doing the same.

"The locket's ready." said Daniel. "And I've got the horcrux." she added.

"Let's get out of here. Keep your wands out, we should put out the fire right before we leave. Tilda, take Severus and Sirius. Tim, you're with us. On the count of three!" said Sofia.

Severus felt someone grab his hand. His head was swimming and his legs felt like leaves.

"One, two, three …"

At that, the fire was out and the angry inferi made to advance on them, but they were gone the next second.

Severus' knees buckled underneath him the moment they got back to the library. His stomach churned painfully and he started vomiting. Someone pulled his hair out of the way and rubbed his back as everything he'd eaten that day ended up on the floor, leaving him weak and shaky.

He wrapped his arms around his stomach and tried to control his breathing. He heard Sirius murmur a cleaning charm and then he was wiping Severus' face.

"You shouldn't have come." said Sirius quietly, his eyes flashing with fury.

"The ... the hell I shouldn't have." retorted Severus, his voice hoarse. "I'm going to be sick again." he managed to add as another wave of nausea hit him. Sirius held a potion to his lips and he gulped it down, eager to make the nausea stop.

"You shouldn't have come." repeated Sirius.

Severus looked away from his husband's accusing eyes and blinked back the tears that filled his own.

"We talked about this. You weren't supposed to be there! You're pregnant, don't you understand that?! Do you want to see our daughter get hurt? Why don't you just …"

"That's enough, Sirius!" snapped Daniel.

Severus bit back a sob and wiped at his face with a shaking hand. Sirius had never talked to him that way before.

"Please don't cry, Sev. It's over. We're all safe, now." whispered Daniel and put her arms around him.

Severus stayed in her warm embrace for a while, trying to push back the guilt his husband's harsh words had caused.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. Let's go to bed, we'll talk tomorrow." said Sirius.

"I'm sleeping here." murmured Severus and climbed into one of the empty beds. He turned his back to the others and started counting the books on the shelves lining the wall.

A moment later, the bed shifted and Sirius laid down beside him.

"Next time, I'll let you die." Severus bit out bitterly and closed his eyes. Nobody said anything after that.


	98. Chapter 98

Chapter 98: The Promise

Summary: Severus and Sirius talk about what happened at the island.

Sirius felt a bit disoriented when he woke up and every bone in his body ached. He groaned and stretched, before looking around. They were in the library, he realized. He had climbed onto Severus' bed last night.

"Severus" he whispered and sat up in bed. His husband was still there, he had curled up into himself during the night as if trying to get away from him as much as possible.

He brushed the man's hair out of his face and looked at his features, critically. Severus had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was paler than normal. Sirius frowned as he noticed his husband's breathing was a bit labored and felt his forehead. He swore, Severus definitely had a fever.

It could be just a cold, it had been awfully chilly on that island. Or it could be exhaustion, Severus had drained himself. He had also gotten sick when they arrived home.

Sirius closed his eyes in guilt and shame as the events from the night before came rushing back to him. Severus had been in bad shape and instead of taking care of him and making sure he was alright, Sirius had yelled at him. He was the worst wizard on the face of the earth, he had made his pregnant husband cry.

He contemplated over waking him. He knew Severus needed the rest but he probably had to take something for his fever before it got worse.

"Severus? Wake up." he whispered and shook him gently.

Severus blinked groggily and stared at him through his lashes.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sirius.

"Tired. Let me sleep." murmured Severus.

"You have a fever. Let's get to our own room and I'll call Andrew." said Sirius.

Severus stared at him some more, then nodded. He sat up with some effort and stood on shaky legs. Sirius took his arm and they made their way out quietly, careful not to wake others that were still sleeping there.

An awkward silence fell over them as they walked through the Manor. Sirius started to say something a few times but stopped himself.

"I'm laying down." said Severus as they reached their bedroom.

"Yeah, good idea … but maybe you should change first." suggested Sirius and found some pajamas for him. "You should at least take off your robes and boots." he added when Severus only stared at him.

"Those don't fit me anymore." said Severus quietly.

"Right, sorry. I'll find something else."

"The yellow ones. They're in the drawer." said Severus and started to slowly unbutton his robes and shirt.

"Let me help you with that." offered Sirius, when he got the pajamas and helped his husband undress and get into his night clothes. "I'll call Andrew." he murmured, as both of them fell silent again, and went to their small living room to use the floo.

The healer appeared in the fireplace a few minutes later. "What's wrong?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes.

"He's a bit warm." answered Sirius and gestured for the man to get into the bedroom.

"Morning, Sev." said Andrew with a smile and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Sorry we woke you up."

"It's fine. You were supposed to have a physical in two days anyways. Might as well do it all at once, shall we?"

"Do I need to be awake for this?" asked Severus drowsily and closed his eyes.

Andrew chuckle. "Not really." he answered and started to run his wand over his patient's body. His smile disappeared after a few minutes and was replace with a frown.

"Well, … the good news is that your baby's doing fine. Healthy and growing properly." the healer started. "You on the other hand aren't in the best shape. Have you been taking your potions?"

"Yeah. I was fine until last night."

"He came over to the island even though he wasn't supposed to and wore himself out." spat Sirius. He regretted his tone when he saw Severus flinch.

Andrew looked between the two of them, then sighed. "It's not that serious. I'm just going to prescribe new potions. You need to stay in bed the entire weekend, though. You have a cold and need rest to fight it off or it'll get worse." he told Severus sternly.

"I can't stay in bed the entire time. What about the courtship?" protested Severus.

"Don't worry about that. Your grandfather and Sirius can handle things. My parents aren't that big on tradition anyway and they've already agreed to the wedding." Andrew reassured him.

"Thanks, Andrew."

"No problem. Take a swallow of this for your fever." said Andrew. He took a small vial out of his healer's bag and handed it to Severus. "I'll send for the rest of your potions right away." he added and left, through the door this time.

"So, you got lucky, eh? Don't have to deal with Andrew's parents this weekend." said Sirius, trying to lighten the mood.

Severus drank his potion, then shrugged. "That's better than being stuck in bed for two whole day." he whispered and started playing with his bedding.

"Severus, I'm sorry for the way I reacted last night. I shouldn't have snapped at you." started Sirius. He sat down on the bad and took his husband's hand. "I was worried and scared for you and our daughter, but it was no excuse. I shouldn't have yelled like that. Will you forgive me?" he continued, pleadingly.

"I didn't get upset because of you yelling." said Severus, his voice breaking. "I got upset because … you think I'm a bad father."

"What? I never said …"

"You didn't have to!"

"I don't think you're bad father. You're an amazing dad, you take such good care of our daughter and I know you love her." said Sirius, pulling Severus closer to him. "You made a bad decision, that's all."

"Bad decision? Do you think she'd want me to let her other dad die? What about the others that were with you, they have kids, too. You know!" snapped Severus, pulling away. "I thought about getting help, but I was afraid there wasn't time and I was right! I wasn't as careless as you think, I told Tim to apparat me away if things got bad."

"Severus, please. I need to know you'd never do something like that again. Promise me. Please, I'm begging you."

"I … I don't …" Severus trailed off and put his head in his hands. "I can't think right now. I'm tired and hungry."

"We'll talk later, then." said Sirius and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, his husband was as stubborn as they came. "What do you want for breakfast?" he asked.

"Toast."

"You should have more than just toast. How about porridge and pumpkin juice?"

"That sounds good." agreed Severus, smiling a bit. "Have Tilda bring it. You should go eat with the others."

"Alright. I'll come back as soon as I can." said Sirius and kissed him lightly on the lips before standing up. It was going to be a long day.

…

Severus lay in bed looking at the ceiling. Andrew had dropped off his potions after breakfast and his mother had come to check on him at some point, but other than that he had been pretty much lonely all morning and he was bored out of his mind.

He sat up as someone knocked on the door. "Come in." he called, glad to have a visitor but disappointed at the same time, knowing it wasn't his husband.

"Hi, Sev." said Narcissa as she entered the room, holding her son. "Draco and I thought you might want company."

"Da!" exclaimed Draco, holding out his tiny arms to him.

"Come here, little guy." said Severus and took the child. He wasn't good with kids in general but he had a soft spot for Draco and the boy seemed to like him, too.

He smiled as Draco started to babble, looking at him intently with his silver eyes.

"I heard about your little adventure last night."

"Are here to lecture me?" asked Severus.

"Not really."

"Sirius is mad at me for going there and I know it was dangerous but I don't regret it."

"I wouldn't, either. You did save them." commented Narcissa.

"Actually, I didn't. The house elves did most of the work." admitted Severus and gave Draco his watch, which he had been staring at. The boy put the watch in his mouth and covered it in saliva before starting to play with it.

Narcissa make a face. "House elves are weak-minded creatures. Even though their magic is strong, they don't have enough will power to use it to its full capacity on their own. The reason they could perform magic like that was because of you, their desire to protect you enabled them to deter the inferi." she explained. "I don't think you should regret going but you need to learn your lesson."

"And what lesson is that?"

"That you're not as strong as you used to be. So, you can't take chances, not when there's another life depending on yours."

"That's true." said Severus and sighed. "You're good at this, giving advice I mean."

"Thank you." responded Narcissa. "By the way, do you know what you're going to do at the wizengamot on Monday?" she asked. Her eyes sharpened, the way they always did when she was fishing for information.

"I've given it some thought." answered Severus, paying with Draco's soft hair.

"Oh?"

"My problem is how to convince the wizengamot members. Do you have any advice for me?"

Narcissa shifted a little in her seat, she had obviously hoped for more clarification. "I don't know much about politics."

Severus cocked his head to the side and studied the blond woman. "I have a feeling you know more than you let on." he said thoughtfully.

Narcissa smirked. "My father always said there's two things that motivate people enough to take risks, greed and fear. Take from that what you will." she said and studied her hands for a few minutes, as if contemplating something. "You could run your speech by me, if you like. Lucius does that all the time." she continued, leaning forward a bit.

Severus was about to make up some excuse when they heard someone come in.

"I didn't realize you were here." Sirius told his cousin. He was holding a tray filled with food.

"We were just leaving. Enjoy your lunch." said Narcissa shortly and reached for her son.

Severus kissed Draco's cheek before letting him go. "Thank you for the visit." he murmured.

Narcissa nodded at him and left.

Sirius watch her go then turned around. "What did she want?"

"Nothing, really. We talked for a bit and then she asked me about wizengamot. I didn't tell her much."

"She was always sneaky like that." commented Sirius and put the tray on the night stand. "Hungry?" he ask.

"Yeah. I'm going to go freshen up." said Severus and went to the bathroom.

He stared at Sirius' reflection in the mirror as he washed up and came to a decision. "Sirius?" he said as he entered the bedroom again. "I promise not to do anything dangerous again, while I'm pregnant." he continued, praying that he wouldn't regret this.

"Thank you." murmured Sirius. He closed his eyes in relief and pulled him into a tight hug.


	99. Chapter 99

Chapter 99: The Bill

Summary: Severus proposes a bill at the Wizengamot.

Severus stood in front of the mirror and put on his velvet black robes, apprehensively. Dumbledore was supposed to be present at the Wizengamot that day as Chief Warlock and the house was open for debate. Severus had to present his case and he had to do it right, he knew he wouldn't get another chance any time soon.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Sirius asked him and put a hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

"I don't have a fever. And Andrew said I was fine last night, remember?"

"He didn't say you were fine, he said you were better and that you could go to the Wizengamot today if you felt you're up to it." corrected Sirius.

"Well, I do. I feel fine, a bit nervous but fine." Severus reassured him and picked up his tie.

"I'm coming with you, then." said Sirius and took his own robes out of the wardrobe.

Severus sighed. "You know, you're not going to get your mastery if you skip your classes all the time." he scolded. "You can take me there, but you're going to Hogwarts afterwards."

Sirius shrugged. "It's not like I don't study." he murmured and started to get dressed.

Once they were both ready, they apparated together to the ministry and got separated in the lobby. By the time Severus reached the Wizengamot Headquarter, everyone else was already seated and Dumbledore had taken his place at the head of the chamber.

Severus greeted the Lords and Ladies as he sat, feeling the weight of the Headmaster's gaze.

"Now that everyone's here. I would like to start the session by proposing a bill. According to the British wizarding law, werewolves are considered dark creatures even though they only turn into one once a month." said Dumbledore. A murmur started around the room, which he ignored. "We're all aware of the dangers werewolves pose at the night of the full moon, they turn into blood thirsty creatures and attack anyone close to them. That has been the case until very recently, of course. The invention of the wolfsbane potion has changed all that. We have among us a young man who's been involved in this invention and I'm sure he can explain the matter better than I. If you would Lord Prince?" asked the man with a gentle smile.

Severus startled at the mention of his name. He looked around the room, everyone was staring at him now, some were leaning forward and cringing their necks to have a better view of him. He took a deep breath and raised to his feet. "Master Belby is one of the finest potioneers in Europe and the inventor of the wolfsbane potion. I was lucky to be part of his team. The potion, if prepared correctly and taken before the rise of the moon, helps the patient keep his conscience mind and awareness. The transfiguration process consists of two parts, the potion cannot deter the physical aspects but it prevents the process to affect the mind. The physical transfiguration turns the patient into a large wolf." Severus paused, trying to push the image that rushed into the front of his mind aside. "However, it would no longer result in a blood thirsty beast. It would be similar to the animagus transfiguration, except forced. The wolfsbane has been modified to a NEWT level potion, which means it can be prepared safely by a competent brewer. As a matter of fact, Professor Slughorn has added the potion to his seventh year curriculum and so have the resident potion Professors in Durmstrang and Beauxbatons." he explained and sat back down.

"Thank you, my boy." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling merrily. "I believe we should no longer exclude the ones affected by the curse from our society, not when there's a way to keep everyone safe. They need to have the same opportunities as the rest of us to get an education and find a job, to be productive members of our society."

"We can't leave them without supervision." said Amelia Bones. "According to what Lord Prince said, the wolfsbane potion prevents the werewolves from giving into animalistic instincts, but that doesn't mean they'd no longer be dangerous. A werewolf is much larger and stronger than an ordinary wolf, not to mention they can still spread the curse, isn't that true?" she asked, turning to him.

"Basically, yes." agreed Severus.

"We can't punish someone when they haven't committed a crime, yet. Just because they have the ability to hurt others, doesn't mean they're going to. A powerful witch or wizard can be just as dangerous." protested Elphias Doge.

"Werewolves are all criminals. They can't be trusted!"

"My Lords!" called Dumbledore. "I understand your concerns. There has to be laws that prevent werewolves from hurting people at the night of the full moon. It is after all one night out of the month, precautions can be taken. We will be voting on the bill again once all the details have been worked out. For now, do you agree to restore werewolves' rights to education and employment?" he asked, looking at the members expectedly.

Less than half the members raised their hands in agreement. Severus hesitated for a moment, he knew Dumbledore was using him and the man had already failed in taking the necessary precautions in the past, but he agreed with the context and couldn't in good conscience vote against it, so he raised his hand. Soon after, Lucius and Lord Black followed suit and so did a few others.

A satisfied smile appeared across Dumbledore's face. "The ayes have it!" he announced.

The members started to whisper among themselves. Severus waited a few minutes until the commotion died down, before raising to his feet. "I would like to propose a bill as well." he said as confidently as he could. "The country is at war. It has been for some time and things are getting worse with each passing day. The dark Lord and his followers are gaining more power and no one can feel safe in their own home any longer. The attacks can come at any moment and all the ministry has done until now is send the Aurors when it's already too late."

"The Aurors put their lives on the line every day!" snapped someone.

"I am not belittling their efforts, my Lord. They're doing their duty the best they can, but what about the Wizengamot? We've let the enemy take lead with our inaction, we need to get ahead of them and end this war." said Severus.

The sounds of agreement raised from around the room.

"What do you propose, Lord Prince?" asked Dumbledore, stroking his white beard thoughtfully.

"In order to defeat the enemy we need to strike where it would hurt them most. The dark Lord is a powerful wizard, but he is only one man. He doesn't go on raids himself, he has dozens of Death Eaters doing his bidding. Without them, he'll be powerless. The dark Lord is well aware of that fact. He runs a tight ship and almost all of his followers are terrified of him. They also know they have nothing to lose, they're criminals in the eyes of the law and they don't have a way out, which makes them all the more ruthless." Severus paused, bracing himself. "Most of this Death Eaters are young witches and wizards. They joined when they were barely out of school. Their goal was to impress their families, to gain honor and glory. Some of them are savage, cruel criminals but the rest … the ones that don't enjoy violence and torture, they're trapped. We need to reach out to those and give them a way out. We need to let them know it's not too late to do the right thing, that they can make amends for their sins." he continued, keeping eye contact with the members, like his grandfather had told him to.

A commotion rose in the room once more at his words. Barty Crouch rose to his feet, his eyes shining with fury. "You want to reach out to criminals who have tortured and killed good men and women? Who continue to raise havoc and terror?" he shouted.

Severus almost flinched at his tone. "Not all of them are cold blooded murderers. They've made mistakes, terrible mistakes. If we give them a chance at redemption, many of them will take it and the dark Lord will … will lose his … followers." he fought to get the words out.

"Sit down before you faint, child." said the Frizzy-haired witch next to him, tugging at his sleeve.

Severus frowned. He was shaking, he realized. He looked around the room as he sat, concern and sympathy had replaced the outrage that had taken over his peers' faces a moment ago.

"Perhaps it's time for a break." suggested Dumbledore.

People started to clear out of the room at that, talking among themselves.

Severus put his head in his hands and took a few deep breaths to compose himself, he couldn't believe he had failed so miserably. After a few minutes, he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" asked a familiar voice.

Severus looked up and smiled half-heartedly at Lucius, who was now sitting next to him. "I'm fine. I was on my feet for too long, I guess." he said with a sigh. "They must all think I'm an idiot." he added, looking at his hands.

"They think you're naïve and overly optimistic, there's a difference I suppose." said Lucius, smirking a bit. "For what is worth, it wasn't a bad speech."

"What do I do, now?" asked Severus, wincing at the desperation that crept into his voice.

"Not all is lost. They still have yet to vote. You should use this time to talk to them. Starting with that one." answered Lucius, looking to their right.

Severus followed his eyes and saw Dumbledore coming over to them.

"Good luck." whispered Lucius and left him there.

"Severus, my boy. I was wandering if I could have a word with you in private." said the Headmaster.

Severus frowned at the familiarity in the man's voice. "I was actually going to the cafeteria." he said, raising to his feet.

"That's too far away, my boy. My office is right through that door and we could order something through the floo." offered the man, pointing to the wooden door that suddenly appeared in the wall.

"Alright." murmured Severus and followed him inside. The room was large and airy, much like the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

"Please, take a seat. What would you like? Tea perhaps?" asked Dumbledore

"No, I don't drink caffeine. I'll have a glass of apple juice if you have it." answered Severus as he sat down.

"Certainly! I'll floo call the kitchen right away." said Dumbledore. He dropped a handful of floo powder in the fireplace, before shouting for the kitchen and putting his head in the flames. Once the man finished the call and sat down, a tray appeared on the table. There was tea, a jug of apple juice and a plate of finger sandwiches.

Severus poured himself some juice and took a few large sips. It instantly made the dizziness go away.

"Feeling better my boy? It must be hard, handling your many new found responsibilities while pregnant." commented Dumbledore, kindly. "You should try the jelly sandwiches, they're quite tasty." he added, when Severus didn't say anything.

Severus frowned but put a couple of them on his plate. "What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked shortly.

"All business, I see. Very well, first I wanted to thank you for your vote. I noticed it was what turned the scales."

"You don't need to thank me. I voted because I believe in equal rights. I won't be voting again if the safety measures are not adequate."

"I see. Perhaps you would agree to help with that?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.

"I can't make any promises. My time is limited. Like you said I have other responsibilities as well." answered Severus, biting into his sandwich. "This is good." he murmured.

Dumbledore merely smiled in response and busied himself with the tea.

They were quiet for a moment. Severus' eyes fell on the large window behind the man's desk. "It all starts at Hogwarts." he said quietly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Hogwarts. It all starts there." repeated Severus, looking out the window. "The division I mean. The Slytherins get separated from the rest. They get labeled. Potter and his friends called me names all through school. They started a rumor that I knew more curses than the seventh years, just because I was better than them at defense. I was better in most classes and they couldn't take it, spoiled attention seeking brats that they were. And yes, I know my husband is one of them. He'd be the first one to agree with me." he sighed. "It's impossible for a Slytherin to have friends in other houses, did you know that? Lily and I were inseparable before Hogwarts but once we got sorted things changed, my housemates gave me hell for being friends with a Gryffindor muggle born and Lily … she started to act like I was beneath her. Everyone thinks Slytherins are dark, dangerous criminals in the making. The isolation makes them a close knit, they can't trust others and they won't be accepted anywhere else, so they hold on to each other and reject anyone who might try to get close to them." Severus paused in his rambling and turned his eyes to Dumbledore.

The Headmaster had put his tea away and was watching him intently.

Heartened by the man's attention, he continued. "Most of the purebloods pushed their children into taking the mark, thinking of them as assets, means to gain power. Some actually believed they were doing their children a favor, putting them on the path to success. This changed a couple of years ago, when the dark Lord gained more power and the raids started. The man has no respect … for anything really and his brutality doesn't sit well with many of his followers."

"Not all of the Death Eaters are purebloods." interrupted Dumbledore.

"No, some had joined to be in the same league as them." agreed Severus.

"I understand what you're trying to say, my boy." said Dumbledore, nodding to himself. "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye but you have proven yourself to be compassionate young man. I've heard that you've offered sanctuary to the Death Eaters' families and I find that commendable. But I don't agree with you about the Death Eaters, themselves. No matter the circumstances, they have made a choice. They're dangerous and they can't be trusted. You are young, Severus. I have encountered many dark wizards in my years and I know from experience what happens to those who cross lines like that." the man continued, his tone remorseful.

"Just because they've made a mistake doesn't mean they can't change." protested Severus, struggling to keep his temper in check. "Are you saying, that in one hundred years, you haven't made one single mistake? We both know you're no saint!" he snapped, raising to his feet.

"Calm down, Severus. This can't be good for you or your child."

"Don't you dare bring up my daughter!" Severus snapped again. He ran a hand through his hair and took a few deep breaths. "Thank you for the refreshments." he added in a tight voice and left without a backward glance.

He sat down in his regular seat and watched as the room filled with the aged witches and wizards. It was ten minutes later when Dumbledore finally came out of his room and stood in front of them. "Before we vote on the bill proposed by Lord Prince, I would like to say a few words on the matter." he started, pausing for dramatic affect. "I am an old man. I have lived through another war and I have seen destruction and death more than I care to, as have many of you, my Lords. The young witches and wizards fighting along Voldemort were my students not long ago and I feel we're all responsible to some degree for their actions today. I am a man who believes in second chances, for I myself have been offered many through the years. The Death Eaters must be held responsible for their actions, but perhaps we could make allowances for those who have not yet sunk so deep and offer them a second chance." he raised his hand to delay the protests. "We must look at the big picture, if Lord Voldemort loses his followers it would save grief and pain for many of us and we'll be able to defeat him for good. All in favor please raise your hands."

Severus stared at the Headmaster in shock as he raised his hand. Almost all of the members voted in his favor.

"The ayes have it." announced Dumbledore and nodded in his direction.


	100. Chapter 100

Chapter 100: Negotiation

Summary: They discuss the bill further after the meeting.

The rest of the meeting went by quickly. Severus' thoughts were on Dumbledore the whole time. Why had he agreed to his proposal and defended it so vigorously? Would this bill somehow benefit him or was the man simply buttering him up for some reason? Was it because Dumbledore wanted him to be indebted? Perhaps he had some scheme cooking that would prevent the bill to pass in the long run and this way the old man would make him look like an idiot and lose his public standing.

Once the meeting was concluded, Severus chanced a glance at him. Dumbledore was already in the middle of a discussion with Elphias Doge and a few of the other members were approaching the pair. The man looked up suddenly and gave him a warm smile and a wink. Severus looked away, more confused than before.

"What did you tell him?" asked Lucius, coming over and standing next to him.

"Basically I told him what a horrible Headmaster he was and that he was no saint."

"What?" said Lucius, frowning. "If you don't want to tell me …" he trailed off.

Severus rolled his eyes. "I told him the Slytherins get separated from the rest at Hogwarts and that's why they choose to stick together and don't care much for the others. That most of them had taken the mark to please their parents and their peers and they deserve a second chance." he explained.

"So, you guilted him into it. Not an approach I would have chosen but it seemed to have worked." said Lucius thoughtfully.

"You think so? Don't you think he could have an alternative motive?"

"It's possible, of course. But there's no point dwelling on it, all in all today was a success." answered Lucius. "You'd better go home, you look like you need some rest. I'm going to stay a bit longer and chat with some of the Lords here." he added and strode to the opposite side of the room.

Severus contemplated over staying, for a moment. He really was tired and he had plans for the evening, it would be nice to have time for a nap. Besides, it wasn't like he had much left to say to the other members and particularly wanted to stick around. Deciding to leave, he ran a hand through his hair and straightened his robes.

"Lord Prince, may I have a word?" called a woman.

Severus looked up to see Amelia Bones, watching him intently. "I was actually heading home to rest. I'm recovering from a cold."

"I see." murmured Bones, giving him an apprising look. "You realize there's likely a few journalists and photographers waiting outside, since the house was open for debate today. You'd be stuck there for a while." she said, knowingly.

Severus turned to look at the entrance, through the door he could see a small crowd gathered outside. One of them, he recognized as Rita Skeeter.

"We could go straight to Mr. Crouch's office and you may use the floo there after our talk." she suggested and pointed her wand to the wall. A door appeared there, much like the one Dumbledore had conjured. "One of the perks of being friends with the head of the magical law enforcement." she continued smugly.

"Very well." said Severus and followed her inside.

The room was as big as Dumbledore's office but looked less fancy. Severus sat down on one of the wingback chairs and looked at her expectedly.

"You're a hard man to find." Bones started, sitting down opposite of him. "Most of the Lords out there die for a chance to have their picture taken and published but you seem to avoid any kind of publicity. Then again you were always shy."

"Have we met before?" asked Severus, frowning.

"I was a few years ahead of you at Hogwarts. It was a shock to hear you've ended up marrying Sirius Black."

"Love is unpredictable like that and Sirius has changed a lot. He's still a hothead but much more mature and selfless." said Severus.

"Is that why you believe people are capable of change? Even criminals and murderers?" asked Bones, raising an eyebrow.

Severus watched her for a moment. "Under normal circumstances, I don't think people can change that easily. But there's a fine line between those who enjoy inflecting pain and murder and those who do it because they think they have no other choice. Not all the Death Eaters joined to kill and destroy, things didn't start that way." he answered.

"Perhaps it wasn't their initial intention, all the same they ended up hurting innocent people. I understand what you're trying to do, but people expect certain actions from the justice system and if they decide we're not doing our job, they might start to take things into their own hands and let me assure you the results won't be pretty." said Bones, looking him straight in the eyes. "I won't allow something like that to happen. All that will take for me to kill this bill is one interview."

Severus kept her gaze. "Yet, you're sitting here talking to me." he shot back.

Bones sighed heavily. She stood up and started to pace. "The bottom line is that you're right. The war is getting worse. The enemy is like a three headed beast, from each head that we cut off, three new ones grow. We've tried to control the situation, but to no avail. If we can weaken the enemy from within we might have an actual chance to defeat them once and for all." she said in a resigned tone.

"Am I correct to assume that you are also talking for your colleagues?"

"Yes. I know their concerns and I'm going to see to it that they're address in the bill." said Bones and stopped her pacing, half sitting on the edge of her desk. "There needs to be consequences. We can't let the Death Eaters off the hook. They should pay for their crimes and then be sent to exile. We have to separate them from the rest of the wizarding world. "

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I said, no." repeated Severus. "Most of the Death Eaters are from prominent families. They're not going to leave the dark Lord if it'll make them lose their heritage."

"We're offering them a second chance. They don't get to be picky!"

"Might I remind you that the dark Lord is winning the war? If they stay they'll be on the winning side, while leaving would put them in mortal danger. The dark Lord will hunt them down and subject them and their loved ones to gruesome deaths. Most of the Death Eaters don't agree with the direction they're forced to go, but it'll cost them dearly to leave and they won't risk leaving him if it means there won't be anything left of their heritage. If you're going to ask them to make such a great sacrifice, you don't get to be that picky either."

"What do you suggest then? Let them all walk free?" retorted Bones, crossing her arms over her chest.

Severus sat back in his chair. He had discussed this matter thoroughly with his family and was ready for this. "First, we'll have them take an oath that they wouldn't support the dark Lord any longer and would not knowingly do anything that'll benefit him. Then, we're going to take them somewhere safe until the war is over. At that point, people can make claims against them for what they've done during the war. We'll hold fair trails and if the claim is proven, have them negotiate on a form of payment. It could be a service or money but the amount can't be higher than one tenth of the convict's assets, including their time. Azkaban sentence can only be passed if the person has committed cold blooded murder in oppose to a duel or self-defense." he paused as he remembered something. "Like you said, we can't allow people to take justice into their own hands. There should be laws to prevent them from harming the renounced Death Eaters and their family and friends and treat them unfairly." he added and stifled a cough.

"Would you like some water?" asked Bones, moving to pour him a glass.

"No thank you." answered Severus shortly. He wouldn't chance drinking veritaserum, it was probably the oldest trick in the book.

Bones raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She was quiet for a long time, thinking things through. "What you suggest is not a bad place to start. I'll have to discuss it with my supervisors." she announced, finally.

"Very well. It was nice meeting you, Ms. Bones."

"Please, call me Amelia." she said with the polite smile. "The floo powder is on the mantle if you'd like to leave through the fireplace."

"Yes, thank you." said Severus and picked a handful. He flooed to his office in St. Mungo's and then to his study in Prince Manor from there.

He spent the next hour recounting the events of the day to his family and discussing strategy while eating lunch. After that he went to take a nap to restore his energy for the evening, Sirius and he were supposed to meet Remus at Spinner's End and then have dinner with the Johnsons.

…

Narcissa watched his husband pacing the length of their small sitting room, fuming. "I don't understand why you're so upset, Lucius." she said.

"You want to know why I'm upset?" snapped Lucius. "I tell him to go home and he sneaks behind my back, having a private meeting with Bones while I'm out there wasting my breath on Crouch and Fudge! You know, before I took him under my wing no one would even talk to him. Now he act like he's …"

"The most powerful Lord in England?" supplied Narcissa, raising a brow. "Jealousy does not become you, darling."

"I'm not jealous! Weren't you listening to me? He's getting out of hand."

"So, he saw an opening and used it. It only proves how well you've thought him." reasoned Narcissa. "We've already put all of our eggs in his baskets. We need to make sure he triumphs." she continued, calmly.

Lucius slummed into a chair with a huff. "We're Malfoys. We're supposed to take control, not act like lackeys." he grumbled.

Narcissa couldn't help but laugh. "We're far from lackeys, dear." she said and took his hand in her own. "Who knows, one day Draco might marry his little Princess and end up being the most powerful Lord in England."

Lucius hummed in agreement. "If only the little git approved of arranged marriages." he murmured to himself.


	101. Chapter 101

Chapter 101: The Artifact

Summary: Remus has an idea about destroying the horcruxes.

Notes: Hello, guys!

For this chapter I was inspired by an amazing fic named "Darkness Visible" by "plutoplex". It's a must ready, if you ask me. Here's the link: s/11625127/1/Darkness-Visible

I wanted to thank plutoplex for letting me use his genius idea.

...

Severus and Sirius apparated to Spinner's End together. Severus looked around as they walked down the street, the neighborhood was as gloomy as ever and it looked almost exactly the same but for some reason it felt unfamiliar, foreign.

Remus opened the door as soon as they reached the last house in the row. "Come in, guys." he greeted with a warm smile and led them inside.

"Wow! This place sure has changed." commented Sirius as they sat in the small living room.

It was true, the furniture and curtains had floral print and the old floor had been covered with a light blue carpet. Everything was bright and welcoming, as if for the first time a real family was living there.

"Sorry about that. It's just Lisa …" Remus started to apologize sheepishly, but Severus cut him off.

"No reason to explain. It's your home, you should decorate it how you like."

"It's still your childhood house. We'll change things back when we move out."

"Why would you move out?" asked Severus, frowning. "You know we have to stay at the Manor. And this might be my childhood house but I can't say I have too many fond memories from back then. Besides, I like it better this way. Lisa has great taste."

"Thank you Severus, that's very generous of you."

"It's really not." insisted Severus.

"Sev's right. This is your place, now." said Sirius. "And as the host you should get us tea or something." he teased.

Remus grinned. "Sure, I'll be right back." he said and disappeared in the kitchen.

He came back out a couple of minutes later with a tray. "Here we go. We've got cinnamon tea, chocolate chip cookies and the ice-cream is for you, Sev."

"Thanks." said Severus, blushing a bit as he picked up the bowl.

"Won't Lisa be joining us?" asked Sirius and poured himself some tea.

"No, she's at work but she'll be here in time for dinner." answered Remus. "How did it go at the Wizengamot today?" he asked, turning to Severus.

"Good. The bill passed, you can read all about it tomorrow's paper. I suspect you'd be more interested in the bill that Dumbledore proposed, though."

"Oh?"

"It was about werewolves and giving them equal rights in education and employment." explained Severus. "It passed." he added with a smile.

"Really? it … it really passed?"

"It did. We'll be voting on it again, though. The law has to contain safety measures, including the wolfsbane potion. Dumbledore actually asked me to help with that, so if you've got any ideas let me know."

"Oh, god. This is huge! I can't wait to tell Lisa." exclaimed Remus, his eyes sparkling with joy and hope. "Safety measures are important, otherwise people won't trust us. I'll help anyway I can." he continued, excitedly.

Sirius squeezed his shoulder. "I've always told you things would get better." he said, smugly.

Remus grinned in response. "Let's talk about something else, I don't want to jinx it. Did you bring the horcrux?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's right here." answered Sirius, and pulled a sealed box out of his bag. He gave it a look of disdain as he put it on the mantel. "This one almost got us. You're going to be careful, right?" he asked.

"You should, specially if you find that ring. It has a wicked curse on it that eats at one's flesh." warned Severus, looking sternly at Remus.

"Don't worry. We're always very careful." said Remus reassuringly. "I wanted to talk to you about this horcrux business." he continued, sitting a bit straighter. "The tiara really got to me, that it could actually be Ravenclaw's. And your grandfather said this locket is slytherin's?" he asked Severus.

"Yes, he says there's a good chance it's the original."

"Right. So, I've been trying to figure out a way that we could destroy the horcruxes without damaging the objects they are contained in. A thought hit me when I read an article in the paper about Azkaban and its security. It explained how the dementors suck the soul of their victims."

"You're not thinking of actually using a dementor, are you?" interrupted Sirius.

"No. I did at first but when I told Lisa, she talked me out of it. Anyways, she did some digging down in the ministry's archive and found some information about an artifact that can almost do the same thing. We think if we put it near a horcrux, it would suck the soul shard out."

"But … how are we supposed to control something like that?" asked Severus.

"And where the hell are we going to find one? Even the Blacks don't have an artifact this dangerous and I'm pretty sure the Princes don't either." objected Sirius.

Remus sighed. "We're going to have to make one ourselves which is of course highly illegal and we don't have full instructions. As for the danger, there are some runes that could be used to bind it and we can limit the artifact to a specific magical signature, so it wouldn't suck other people's souls. And speaking of your families, there was a list of references in the ministry archive. Perhaps you guys could find some of the books in your family libraries." he explained and summoned a file.

Severus nodded. "Lucius might have a few of them as well. And if we don't find all we need, I'll contact one of my Professors in Germany." he said as Remus gave him the list. "Lisa isn't going to get in trouble for taking these, is she?" he asked, biting his lip.

Remus shook his head. "No, she was very careful and she didn't technically do anything wrong. We made copies and put everything back." he answered confidently.

"This is great, Remus. Severus' cousins could help you with this, right Sev?"

"Yeah, I'm sure they will." agreed Severus. "I'll talk to them and invite you and Lisa over."

"That would be make things easier." murmured Remus to himself. "Let me walk you through what we've got so far." he added and scattered the parchments in the file over the coffee table.

…

They spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the information and went to the Johnsons' house when Lisa arrived. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson greeted them warmly at the door.

"Oh, look at you Severus!" exclaimed Mrs. Johnson. "You've finally filled out a bit." she continued and patted his cheek, beaming.

Severus smiled back. "It's Sirius' fault. He keeps force-feeding me." he said. He hated lying to the two of them but he had decided not to tell them about his pregnancy. They had been accepting of him being a gay wizard but he didn't see any reason to burden them further.

"He looks cute like this, doesn't he?" said Sirius with a grin and kissed his temple.

"Reminds me of when he was a kid. Martha made pudding whenever Severus came over and he wouldn't quit eating until he got a tummy ache." Mr. Johnson chimed in, chuckling to himself at the memory.

Everyone else laughed, too.

"Are you serious? What I wouldn't give to see that!" said Lisa.

"I might do it again tonight if we're having cherry pie." admitted Severus, blushing a bit. He could smell the pie from the living room.

"We are, sweetheart. I made it special for you." said Mrs. Johnson and ushered them into the kitchen.

"So, Sirius. How is the married life treating you?" asked Mr. Johnson once they were sited at the table.

"It's great. The best thing that's ever happened to me." answered Sirius, sincerely.

"Oh, that's sweet, dear." said Mrs. Johnson. "We're really happy Severus has found you." she continued as she put a pot of stew on the table.

Severus saw Lisa look away, wriggling a napkin in her hands. Remus seemed to have noticed it, too. He took one of her hands in his own and squeezed gently.

"You know how much I love you, Lisa." whispered Remus. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if … you'll have me."

Lisa blinked at him, her brown eyes huge with shock. "Are you proposing to me?" she breathed in a barely audible tone.

"Yeah, I … I don't have a ring. I just thought … I'm sorry, I should have waited until …"

"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" exclaimed Lisa, throwing herself in his arms.

"Congratulations!" said Mr. Johnson while his wife batted at her eyes with the edge of her apron. Severus and Sirius looked at each other, grinning.

They spent the rest of the evening chatting and laughing and they forgot all about Voldemort, his hocruxes and the war.

...

Notes: In "Darkness Visible", which is the fic I was inspired by, someone uses a dementor to suck the soul out of a horcrux.


	102. Chapter 102

Chapter 102: Another Vision

Summary: Severus has a vision and it terrifies him.

"It's official. You're having a baby girl." said Andrew.

Severus felt his face split as a big smile came to his lips. He looked up at Sirius, who was beaming down at him.

"Everything looks good and I see, you've finally managed to get your weight high enough." continued the healers, finishing his scan.

Severus's smile wavered as he ran a hand over his belly. "I know." he sighed.

"You're doing great, love. Making sure our baby's comfortable in there" Sirius told him and put a hand around his shoulders.

Severus felt a rush of arousal at the contact and sat up a bit straighter. "Thank you for the checkup, Andrew." he said.

"No problem. You're one of my favorite patients."

"It's late, why don't stay here tonight?" offered Severus, hoping he wouldn't accept.

"I'd love to but I can't. I have a night shift and it starts in ten minutes." answered Andrew, picking up his bag. "Tell Kayla I'll come see her, soon." he added after a pause and left through the fireplace.

Severus waited until he heard the floo die down before grabbing Sirius' robes and pulling him down. "I thought he'd never leave!" he breathed and attacked his husbands' mouth with a fierce kiss.

"Again?" asked Sirius, once he got a chance to breathe.

"Yeah." Severus murmured against his neck and pulled him closer, planting wet, hungry kisses on his shoulder, while pushing his shirt out of the way.

"But …"

"What?" snapped Severus. "You think I'm too fat, don't you?" he accused, self-consciously.

"Of course not! If anything you're more attractive pregnant."

Severus studied Sirius for a second. "Alright, then." he said when he was convinced his husband was sincere and reached over to undo the other man's trousers.

"We're doing it the other way this time." said Sirius in a no nonsense tone. "You just lie back, I'll do the rest." he added and pulled away, taking off his clothes.

Severus made an impatient noise and got out of his pajamas. After what felt like an eternity later, Sirius got in bed. He cast a preparation charm and started to lower himself on Severus' aching cock.

They laced their fingers together and found each others' months, moving in union. Severus came first, he freed one of his hands and fisted Sirius, until he came all over his hand. They lay panting for a few minutes.

Sirius looked completely worn out. "I can sleep now, right?" he asked, hopefully.

"Yeah, you'll need the rest." Severus told him with a smirk. Soon, they both drifted off to sleep.

…

Severus gripped his wand tightly, he didn't have time to think as he fired curse after curse at the enemy. The air was filled with dust and sparkles of magic. He could hear his heart beating in his chest over the cries and explosions. His cousins were fighting by his side, protecting him and his unborn child. It made him feel safe, having them there with him, even if his husband was all the way on the other side of the battlefield. Severus could barely see him through the mayhem but he still glanced in his direction every few minutes, making sure he was still standing, breathing. He couldn't bear to lose him, not now, not ever.

Something exploded behind them. Daniel slammed into him and pushed them both out of the way. She raised to her feet right away as a Death Eater approached them and started to duel him. Severus scrambled to follow, but he lost his balance and fell down the low hill.

He winced in pain as he landed hard on the ground. "Adelaide." he breathed and put a hand on his stomach, sighing in relief when he felt her moving inside. Dread soon overtook him as he saw five dark figures in front of him. He was alone now, he realized, a good few miles away from his cousins.

Wasting no time, Severus raised a shield, blocking the hexes that were already flying his way, and then threw a curse that cracked the ground underneath his opponents. As he got them disoriented, he created a dense fog and slashed his wand through the air as he casted sectumsempra. Two of the death eaters fell but the others started casting hexes in a furious speed.

Feeling his strength draining, Severus ducked behind a rock and put on another shield. Just then his eyes fell on Sirius. He was closer now and Severus could see he was dueling with Bellatrix. Suddenly a red light emerged from the woman's wand and hit him right in the chest.

"Sirius!" cried Severus as he saw his husband fall to the ground. He barely felt the curse that hit his own shoulder and the world went black.

…

A broken sob escaped Severus' lips when he woke up. His husband was dead, his best friend, his lover, he was gone. He wept, shaking uncontrollably.

"Sev, what's wrong? What happened?" whispered someone from behind.

Severus turned around so fast, he got dizzy. "You're here." he sobbed.

"Of course I'm here." said Sirius and put his hands around him. "I'm always here."

"You're here … You're really here …" repeated Severus, as if to convince himself and cried harder.

"Shhh, calm down, honey. Everything's fine. Please don't cry." said Sirius, pulling him closer. "What happened? Did you have a vision?" he asked gently.

Severus shook his head. He couldn't tell him. He didn't know how to. "Ba … bad dream." he whispered and took a deep breath to get his emotions under control. "Can you get me some water?" he asked.

Sirius gave him a look, as if he could see right through him. "Sure." he said after a few minutes and got up.

Severus pulled the blanket tighter around himself, feeling cold as he sat alone in bed and stared at the wall.

…

Sirius was exhausted that morning. Severus had gone back to sleep at some point but he had stayed up, trying to figure out what was wrong with his husband. He was now sure there was something Severus wasn't telling him, for one thing the other man hadn't jumped him when he woke up or even in the shower the way he had for the past few days with his hormones acting up. In fact Severus had been in a hurry to get dressed and leave for breakfast.

Right now, his husband was sitting beside him in the dinning room with a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"We got some good news, last night." announced Severus. "It's confirmed. We're having a girl."

"Congratulations!" exclaimed a few people together.

"That's wonderful news. You should owl your parents, Sirius." said Eileen.

"I'll send an owl after breakfast. I'm sure they'll be happy." said Sirius and reached for Severus' hand under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Now, you can do your shopping. Perhaps you can go to France this weekend and visit your distant cousins while you shop." suggested aunt Noreen.

"That's a splendid, idea. I got most of Draco's clothes there." said Narcissa.

"Perhaps you can plan the trip, later." snapped Septimius when an excited chatter started around the table. "We have more important things to discuss."

With that they started talking about the Wizengamot and making sure the bill passed. After breakfast, Sirius apparated to the ministry with his husband. When Severus made to walk away, he grabbed his wrist.

"Please Sev, tell me what's wrong." he pleaded.

"Don't worry. Every thing's fine."

"I know you're keeping something from me. Just tell me. Please, love." Sirius tried again, letting his worry and frustration show.

Severus looked him straight in the eyes for the first time that morning. "I'm scared, Sirius. The war is coming and we're not prepared." he said quietly. "I should go." he added after a few minutes of awkward silence and walked away.

Sirius watched him go, vowing to himself to find a way to protect him.


	103. Chapter 103

Chapter 103: The Gaunt Family House

Summary: Remus and Lisa find the ring.

Sirius moaned and bucked his hips. He was half-sleep and couldn't fully comprehend what was the source of the pleasure that enfolded his body. Something hot and warm was wrapped around his cock and moved deliciously up and down his length.

He managed to open his eyes and looked down. Seeing his husband crouching between his legs made him feel even more aroused. The sensation was heaven and he didn't want it to end too quickly. "Come here." he whispered and gently pulled the other man up, until he could reach his sweet lips with his own.

Sirius frowned as Severus kissed him back. Something wasn't right but he couldn't put his finger on it. Moaning into the kiss, he pulled Severus closer and suddenly froze. "Severus, stop." he said as he broke the kiss. "What are you doing?" he asked, confused.

"What does it look like?" retorted Severus.

"But you're not hard."

"I don't have to be hard to suck you off."

"I don't want it like this." objected Sirius, his frown deepening.

Severus' eyes flashed with anger. "So, now I'm allowed to have sex with you, is that it?" he snapped and got out of bed.

"I didn't mean it like that." said Sirius. "Of course we can have sex. Come back to bed and I'll …"

"Too late." Severus muttered under his breath and went to the bathroom.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair in frustration and cursed. He had gotten used to his husband's moods by now but this, he couldn't understand. Their love making was always hot and heavy, even in the past week with Severus being specially randy they had managed to make it pleasurable for both of them. Severus had seemed to have lost his eagerness ever since that dream, though. He had been pretty much shaken up in fact. Perhaps he was trying to feel close by initiating sex.

Sighing to himself, Sirius rose to his feet. He could hear the water running and he started taking off his clothes as he walked into the bathroom. He found Severus standing under the shower and put his hands around him from behind. "I'm sorry. I overreacted." he whispered and kissed Severus' temple.

Severus turned around and hugged him tightly. "What would I do without you?" he said, his voice breaking.

"Is this about your dream?" asked Sirius. Severus didn't answer, but closed his eyes in pain as if someone had slapped him. "You shouldn't keep things bottled up. Just talk to me." he tried again but Severus only shook his head.

They stood like that for some time. The sound of water hitting the tiles and their breathing filling the silence in the small room. Sirius frowned as he remembered something. 'You're here' Severus had said over and over that night. "Do I die?" he asked.

Severus' eyes flew open, an unreadable expression marring his features. "No, but I saw you get hurt." he said and stepped out of the shower, sitting on the toilet seat.

"It was a vision, then, about the war." stated Sirius. Severus didn't say anything but the look he gave him was answer enough. Things were beginning to make sense, now. "Look, honey. I know you're scared but I promise you, I'm going to protect you and our daughter. I swear."

"You can't protect me from everything!" snapped Severus. "It's a war! What happens when there's nobody to help me? When I'm all alone, surrounded by enemies?"

Sirius felt the blood drain from his face. "Is that what you saw? You got cornered?" he asked in horror. "Were you still pregnant?"

Severus nodded. "It wasn't far from now. Maybe a month." he answered, quietly.

Sirius sat heavily on the floor. "So, you need a contingency plan." he said after a few minutes of speculation. "We'll find a way for you to get yourself to safety if that happens. That's why you had this vision, right? So that you can prepare yourself. Everything will be alright, Sev." he continued, feeling better now that he had a plan.

Severus stared at him with sad eyes but nodded. His face changed a moment later, his eyes widening.

"What is it?" asked Sirius frowning.

"She's moving. I can feel it." whispered Severus in awe.

"Really?" exclaimed Sirius and moved closer on the cold floor.

Severus smiled and took his hand, putting it over the left side of his stomach.

Sirius sat very still and focused. He smiled broadly when he felt it. "Hello, little sunshine." he cooed. "You have no idea how much your daddies love you."

"You really think she understands you?" asked Severus, amused.

"Of course she does. I'm her dad." answered Sirius confidently.

Severus grinned and looked down at his stomach.

…

Remus and Lisa apparated together, appearing in front of the Gaunt family house. It was still dark even though the sun had risen a couple of hours ago and it was raining heavily. This was the last location on their list to check for horcruxes and Remus was glad. He had concluded his research on the soul observing artifact with the Prince families' help and once this round of horcrux hunting was done, they could start making it.

"It wasn't this cold, last time we came." said Lisa and casted a spell to prevent them from getting wet. "I hate rain. We should get married in the spring, when the cold is gone." she continued as she reach for the backpack Remus was carrying and took out the box containing the locket.

"Really? I like the rain. When I was a kid, I'd sneak out of the house when it was raining to play and would end up catching a cold, every time."

"You were a little terror, weren't you?" asked Lisa, grinning.

"You have no idea. My mom always said that I'll end up with a son ten times worse than myself for all the grief I caused." answered Remus, grinning back. "I became a bit subsided when I got bitten but then I was a hand full for other reasons." he continued, more soberly.

Lisa patted his arm affectionately. "Come on, let's cast the spell and get away from this horrid wetter as soon as possible." she said and opened the box, holding it in front of him.

Remus took out his wand and started chanting the locating spell. The locket glowed in the box and a ribbon of light emerged from it, pointing to the hut in front of them. Remus and Lisa gasped in union and put the locket away before carefully approaching the hut. The old house seemed abandoned and smelled of dust and mold. When they were sure there wasn't anybody else there, they took out their horcrux again and this time Lisa casted the locating spell. They crouched down as the spell pointed to the floor, and pulled up a loose floor board.

"Be careful, Remus. Here, use this." whispered Lisa and handed him a protective glove.

Remus took the glove and pulled it over his hand before picking up the wooden box and opening it. Inside sat a golden ring with a black stone in the middle and a golden cup with two handles. The cup had a badger engraved on it similar to the Hoffelpuff coat of arms. Remus didn't give the cup a second thought, he was focused on the ring. There was a curious symbol on it that he didn't recognize and he couldn't look away from it. All of the sudden he felt an urge to put the ring on, he somehow knew the ring would give him the power and strength to fight all his demons, to defeat the moon and become worthy of his fiancé. He took off the glove and extended his hand to the ring. Something in him screamed to stop but he was too tempted. Before he could touch the precious jewel, though Lisa nocked the box out on his hand and it crashed on the floor with a loud thud.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" he shouted and scrambled after it.

"No! Get away from that thing." exclaimed Lisa and grabbed his shoulder. Remus pushed her roughly away and reached for the ring, which was now lying on the floor.

He growled as invisible ropes wrapped around him and started to struggle. "Let' me go! I need that ring." he pleaded.

"Get a hold of yourself, Remus!" snapped Lisa. Her eyes were wide with shock and fear and her wand was shaking in her hand. She levitated the ring and the cup from the floor and put them back in their box, then started casting wards on it. "It's the horcrux. It's clouding your judgment." she added more gently.

Remus knew she was right. He closed his eyes in shame and pushed down the disappointment he felt at losing the ring. "You're right. I'm sorry." he whispered.

"Are you back to yourself?" asked Lisa and stared at him intently.

"I think so." said Remus with a sigh.

Lisa waved her wand again and canceled the spell. Remus groaned as he was freed from the awkward position and stretched his aching muscles.

"Are you alright?" asked Lisa, helping him to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry I acted like a moron."

"It wasn't you, it was that blasted ring. You looked at it for too long." said Lisa, shaking her head. "We've got what we were looking for. Let's go home."


	104. Chapter 104

Chapter 104: The Beginning of the End

Summary: Voldemort decides to attack the Prince Manor.

Lord Voldemort was furious. He was surrounded by useless vermin. "What do you mean the bill has already passed?!" he bellowed.

"It … it's going to be in … in tomorrow's Prophet, my Lord." stuttered Barty Crouch Jounior, who was kneeling before him.

"In the prophet? Am I to read the Prophet for information?" he asked in a low dangerous voice.

"Malfoy used to be our source, my Lord. I don't sit at the Wizengamot and my father haven't breathed a word about this bill to me."

"Don't talk back to me!" snapped Voldemort and hit the idiot with a round of crucio. "You should have thought of replacing Malfoy before all this." he added as he lifted the curse.

"We … we thought, the w…werewolf law was all they were working on. I didn't see anything about Prince's bill in my father's office." said Crouch Jounior, raising from where he had fallen to the floor.

Lord Voldemort repressed the urge to crucio him again. He needed his men alert right now and he could always punishment them later. The Prince Lord was causing far too much trouble for him and it was time to put an end to the bastard's schemes once and for all. He was not at his full strength after creating his last horcrux, but he was still the most powerful wizard alive and he now knew how to get passed the wards at the Prince Manor.

Planning the attack could wait, however. He had to make sure his servants weren't going to flee like the spineless cowards they have proven themselves to be. No one walked away from him, or at least didn't live long after. Seizing Crouch's arm, he put his wand on the dark mark and called his Death Eaters to him. It was going to be a long night.

…

Severus reread the article in the daily prophet. Rita Skiter didn't seem to agree with the bill that had passed but she had gotten the details of the new law correct.

"They'll be coming here, soon." commented his grandfather. "We need to discuss what we're going to do with them once they arrive." he continued with a determined tone to his voice.

Severus put the paper down. Septimius was right, it was mentioned in the article that Severus had been the one to propose the bill and the Death Eaters would know they had to come to Prince Manor if they were to escape Voldemort. "We make them take a vow, then remove their mark." he said, distractedly.

"Yes, but what do we do with them afterwards? They can't stay at the Prince Manor. Opening our home to their families is one thing, letting Death Eaters in is another matter entirely."

"Father is right. I wouldn't expose my grandchildren to that." said Alan.

Severus nodded. "What do you suggest we do?" he asked.

"I'm not certain." admitted Septimius. "We can't leave them with someone we don't trust. We're going to need them close."

"Do we have any ... property we can put them in? Somewhere safe?" asked Severus.

"You could use Malfoy Manor. There's only house elves living there, now. It's not as secure as here but it is unplottable." suggested Lucius.

"That would do." agreed Septimius.

"Thank you, Lucius. That's very generous." said Severus. He picked up his glass of pumpkin juice and stared into it for a moment. "I had a vision a few days ago. There will be a battle, soon."

"What?! You had a vision about a battle and you're just telling us, now?" snapped Lucius, his pale face darkening with furry.

"Don't talk to him like that!" Sirius snapped back. "Seeing these visions is not easy for him. This one was specially unsettling."

"Unsettling? How unsettling do you think it will be when we lose the war?" sneered Lucius.

Severus put a hand on his husband's arm, before he could start a fight. "You're right, Lucius. I should have told you all sooner. I'm sorry." he said, sincerely. "And don't look at Sirius like that, I only told him yesterday." he added when Lucius scowled at Sirius.

"You're telling us now. What did you see?" said Septimius, his face set in harsh lines.

Severus took a deep breath and looked into space, trying to recall the details. He felt Sirius squeeze his hand. "It was right here on the grounds. They had gotten passed the wards, I think and they had struck full force. There were even a few giants and the Aurors were here, fighting them by our side. I didn't see much else." he explained, blocking out the pain he felt at reliving the vision.

They were all quiet for a few minutes, until Tilda poped in. "Remus Lupin and Lisa March are here for Lord Prince, sirs." she said, bowing.

Severus nodded and watched as the two of them walked in, hand in hand. "Any news?" he asked as they sat down.

"There was an order meeting, last night." started Remus. "The Aurors found a few dead Death Eaters in Knockturn Alley. They think they have died in a duel."

"What?" breathed Severus, his blood chilling.

"Dumbledore thinks it's because of the bill, they are fighting among themselves."

"How many died?"

"Half a dozen. Two of them were marked, Corban Yaxley and Alecto Carrow." said Remus.

Severus put his face in his hands. "I didn't want this. Should have known, it would happen." he murmured.

"Yaxley and Carrow? They're not likely to leave the dark Lord. If I had to guess, I'd say they were trying to prevent the others from escaping." commented Lucius.

"There's something else. We found these in the Gaunt family house." said Lisa and put a box in front of him.

"Be careful, Sev. That ring almost made me lose my mind. I would have put it on if Lisa weren't there to stop me." added Remus, giving him the protective glove.

Severus put on the glove and opened the box, looking at the items inside. "This one is not a horcrux." he announced as he put the cup aside, before picking up the ring. He closed his eyes and reached for the magic inside with his mind. He was taken aback when the dark object hit his mental shields with force. The magic was strong and he could almost feel it pulsing. "This one is very strong, like it's still alive. I'm pretty sure the Dark Lord has just made it." he said quietly, the wheels in his mind spinning.

"If he's just made this horcrux, it means he's weak, right?" asked Sirius.

Severus nodded in response.

"It also means that his soul is unstable." added Septimius. "We need to get the artifact ready. We'll be needing it soon."

"Yes, we should. There's no time." agreed Severus and turned to Remus and Lisa. "I had a vision about a battle on the grounds of the Prince Manor. Tell Dumbledore. If the order is willing to fight, we're going to summon them when the time comes. We …" he trailed off and raised to his feet, looking out the window.

He could see people apparating in near the wards. He knew they didn't intend to cause them harm, that they were there seeking sanctuary.

...

Notes: In canon, Voldemort gives Bellatrix the cup in book seven, so that she can hide it in her vault. I think it's very likely that he had made the horcrux then, even though he had stolen the cup years before that.


	105. Chapter 105

Chapter 105: The Battle March

Summary: Voldemort tries to get through the wards in Prince Manor.

Kayla drew the last rune and stepped back. She nodded to Remus who raised his wand and casted the final spell on the artifact. Once Remus stopped chanting, the room grew cold as if the enchanted box was absorbing all the life and energy. Remus raised his wand again and levitated the diary from the small table in the corner and slowly moved it to the center of the room. As soon as the horcrux passed the runes, the artifact started shaking on the floor and the diary flew right to it. They could feel the magical energy as the black box greedily sucked the soul. A dense smoke rose from the horcrux as it tried to defend itself but soon it disappeared and the diary fell to the floor with a thump.

"That was quick enough." observed Sirius.

"Yes, it's quite effective." agreed Remus. "Once we feed the artifact all the horcruxes, it would be keyed to Voldemort's magic and it'll only work on him." he continued and levitated the tiara.

They watched as the artifact sucked the soul out of Ravenclaw's tiara and then Remus moved on to the locket. As it reached the center, a black smoke rose much like it had with the other two. Sirius looked away from the scene when he heard Severus gasp next to him.

"It's the wards." said Severus in response to his questioning look. "I think it's him. He must have felt his horcruxes being destroyed." he added as he moved to the window.

Sirius followed him and looked over his shoulder. He could see a cloaked figure standing in front of the Manor, moving his arms about him. Behind the man people were apparting in and he could see a giant moving through the forest.

"You're right. It must be Voldemort." whispered Sirius. "When you're done with that Remus, contact Dumbledore. Tell him it's now or never." he told Remus, who was moving on to the ring.

"Tilda!" called Severus. "Tell everyone to gather in the drawing room immediately." he ordered as soon as the elf appeared.

Ten minutes later, they were all there, waiting for Dumbledore and the order.

"Listen, Severus." said Sirius and dragged his husband to a corner. "I think you should leave now, while you can."

"What? How can I just leave?"

"Your safety comes first. When your cousins sent their children and the family of the Death Eaters to your relatives in France, they ordered a few extra portkeys." he said, pulling the quill portkey out of his pocket.

"Sirius …" Severus made to protest but Sirius cut him off.

"Your mother's there, too. She'll take care of you. Please, love. I've talked to your family, nobody will blame you for leaving. You can't stay."

"If I leave … he'll come looking for me and he'll find the others, too."

"Then we'll send you somewhere else."

"It wouldn't make a difference. He'd still find them when he comes after me and he'll slaughter them." said Severus, his voice shaking. "I've been thinking about this, too and you know how sacred I am. It's safer for me to be in plain sight, where there are people around that can protect me." he continued quietly.

Sirius sighed. He knew he couldn't change Severus' mind and he could see he had a point. "Remembered what we talked about? About how you needed a contingency plan? Well, I've been doing some research." he said.

"You found something?" asked Severus hopefully.

"Yes, kind of. First thing you need to remember is not to tire yourself out. Don't put too much energy behind the spells. Because of your pregnancy your magical energy is limited, so you shouldn't use it up all at once and you ought to give yourself time to replace the used energy." he started. "And if you somehow get cornered and don't see a way out, turn to your animagus form. Your form is a panther, you're one of the fastest creatures on earth. You should be able to outrun the Death Eaters and their curses and get yourself to safety."

"Isn't that dangerous for the baby?"

"It's very dangerous in the beginning of pregnancy or when you're close to giving birth but right now … it's not exactly safe but if it's your only option you should do it."

"Our girl has perfect timing." said Severus, smiling half-heartedly.

"She does." agreed Sirius and kissed his husband, holding him close. "Take the portkey, just in case. The password is Prince." he said and placed the quill in Severus's hand, who nodded and put the enchanted object in his pocket.

They turned to face the other side of the room when they heard the fireplace chime. The order members and Aurors started coming through and soon, the drawing room was filled with agitated fighters. Dumbledore came last with his phoenix perched on his shoulder. The old man brushed the sooth off of his robes and walked up to where they were standing.

"Thank you for coming, Professor." Severus told him.

"Of course, my boy. I rallied as many wizards and witches as I was able to." said Dumbledore, his usual twinkle absent. "Lord Voldemort's here? Can you see his army from here?"

"Yes, right through those windows." answered Sirius pointing to the wall facing the grounds.

Dumbledore looked out, stroking his beard, thoughtfully. "Perhaps, it would be wise to engage the renounced Death Eaters as well. It'll give them a chance to lighten their sentences and conscience and we could use the extra wands." he said.

Severus frowned and followed Dumbledore's gaze outside. "We'll have them fight the Inferi. It wouldn't do to put them against their ex-comrades."

"Sounds like a plan." agreed the Headmaster.

"I can go get them." proposed Lucius, joining in on the conversation.

Severus nodded. "Don't force them into it. If any of them wants to come, make them take an oath not to sabotage us before you bring them. And don't go alone." he said and groaned in pain, rubbing his forehead.

"What's wrong?" asked Sirius.

"It's the wards. He's pushing through." answered Severus, gritting his teeth. A moment later, he let out a shriek and doubled over in pain.

"Severus!" exclaimed Sirius and put his arms around his husband. "Get Andrew." he barked to someone.

"Can … can the baby be coming, now?" asked Severus breathlessly. "It's too soon."

"It's Voldemort. He's pushing with his magic. You have to let the wards drop or you might end up having a miscarriage." said Dumbledore, urgently.

The crowded room grew silent at the mention of miscarriage, Severus' ragged breathing echoing through the walls.

"Severus, let them drop! He'll get in eventually." snapped Sirius, as he saw the hesitation on his husband's features.

"H …how do I …?"

"You can feel the wards, correct? Relax and focus on extracting them from your magical core." instructed Dumbledore.

Severus took a deep breath and closed his eyes in concentration, but screamed again as another wave of pain hit him. He was shaking all over, sobbing quietly.

"Sshhh, it's alright. Everything's going to be alright." whispered Sirius and helped him to an armchair. He was at a loss and felt completely helpless.

He sighed in relief when he saw Andrew make his way to them through the crowd. The healer knelt in front of Severus and checked his pulse before helping him drink a potion. The potion seemed to work immediately, Severus' coloring got better and the harsh lines of his face relaxed.

"That's it. You're doing great." Sirius told him, rubbing his shoulders, soothingly. "You can do this, just focus." he encouraged.

Severus closed his eyes again. Sirius held his breath for a moment and watched him.

"It's done." breathed Severus at last and opened his eyes.

"At least now we know how he's getting through the wards." said Severus' grandfather. "He's using his own magic. Once he's dead, the wards will be back in place and the rest of them will be thrown out."

"Forgive me, Septimius but killing Lord Voldemort is not going to be that easy. People have been trying for a long time." commented Dumbledore.

"We have a plan. You just keep him occupied Professor and leave the rest to me. It'll take both of us old men to bring him down." said Septimius, patting his robes absentmindedly, where Sirius knew the artifact was hidden.

"We'll take care of the giants. We've fought them before." said one of the Aurors.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Dumbledore. "Seems like Lord Malfoy has arrived with reinforcement, shall we join them on the grounds?" he added, pointing to the window.

With that, they made their way outside the Manor. Sirius was holding Severus close as they followed the others.

"It's better if you two don't fight next to each other." Septimius told them.

"Why ever not?" snapped Sirius.

"If you're together, they'll focus on the two of you but if you're separated, their attention will be divided. You can fight with the order, Sirius and you young Lord, should be next to your cousins where you'll be protected." explained Septimius.

Sirius looked at Severus questioningly. His husband frowned in displeasure but nodded. "Be safe." murmured Sirius, kissing his temple.

"Don't worry. We'll watch over him." said Daniel and took Severus' hand.

Sirius made to move to the other side and stand next to Remus, when someone called him. He stopped in his tracks and turned to see Narcissa walking up to him. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"Whatever you do, don't let Bellatrix near Severus." she said urgently. "She still holds a grudge against him for getting Rodolphus in jail."

"Rodolphus Lestrange? You mean the guy who tried to kidnap Severus from Hogwarts?"

"She doesn't see it that way! Bellatrix and Rodolphus were supposed to get married, remember? She never got over it and she's gotten very dangerous. You shouldn't let her get to Severus."

"I won't." promised Sirius. "Thank you for the warning."

"Severus is my friend. He saved Draco's life and let us into his home. I'll never forget it." said Narcissa, her pale eyes shining with sincerity. She turned on her hills and went back inside.


	106. Chapter 106

Chapter 106: Safety

Summary: Severus tries to protect his child.

Lord Voldemort sat in his throne like chair, tapping his fingers on his knee impatiently as he waited for his followers to arrive. He had called all of them for the attack to the Prince Manor; every Death Eater, werewolf, giant and his army of Inferi. He was going with everything he got because he knew the Prince Lord had to be stopped. The arrogant boy had been causing trouble for him since he was a student, undermining him in every step. It had started with the traitor's refusal to offer his services to their cause and after that he had claimed the Blacks and the Malfoys, two of the most powerful pureblood families, right under his nose and now the boy had caused a rift in his followers.

An evil smirk appeared on the dark Lord's thin lips. He was going to capture the fool and make him pay for everything he had done. The boy was soft and weak, he'd break in no time at seeing his family being tortured and killed. He might kill the infant inside the boy first or perhaps save it for last, letting him believe that the child would survive and then rip his hopes to shreds. The boy was so sickeningly proud of his intelligence, Lord Voldemort was going to take that away from him as well. A few well performed spells would do the trick and then he'll keep what would remain chained in some corner to remind everyone not to cross him.

Voldemort started chucking to himself in delight, his wand hand twitching in anticipation. His musing though, was cut short by a sharp pain in his very core. He was still weak and his soul had not healed completely from creating the last horcrux. Now he felt as if someone was cutting at his soul all over again. A growl escaped his lips, making his servants flinch. "We're leaving now! Get everyone there." he barked and disapparated on the spot.

Someone was destroying his horcruxes, he was sure of it and he knew who was responsible. Raising his hands in the air he started chanting, putting his anger and loathing behind the spell. The boy may think he can hide behind those wards forever, but after reading the book on old magic, Lord Voldemort knew enough to get passed the ancient wards. Old magic had a life of its own, the best example of that was Hogwarts with its moving staircases and humming stones. The life within old magic, came from people; from their blood and magical cores.

This Manor in particular fed off of its Lords, it chose them in fact, hand-picking the ones whose magic resembled the magic of the family's founder. The Lord's departure or even death wouldn't cause the wards to fall even though it weakened them, but if another person intruded in the connection it would cripple it and that's what he was about to do.

The dark Lord pushed with his magic, weak as it was in his current state, and reached out to the connection, latching himself on it like a parasite. Soon, he felt the Prince Lord's magic and pressed forward forcefully but to no avail. The boy had a far too strong hold on the Manor's magic and didn't give him enough access.

Voldemort soon grew frustrated and increased his force and that's when he felt it, another magical presence was there. It was minor and barely functional but he could feel it clear as day. 'What could it be? Where could it be coming from?' He tried to get to it but couldn't quite reach it. Of course! It was the infant. He could feel it because it was attached to its mother and he couldn't reach it because he didn't have direct access. Indirectly, though …

He pushed through the boy's magic to his child this time and smirked at the pain and panic he felt from the other end. One more push and it was done, the boy loosened his own hold on the wards, letting him in.

"Get ready! The Manor is falling. Put on the anti-apparation wards!" he ordered his followers, who were now gathered around him. "I want the Prince Lord alive and as many of his relatives as possible. Kill the rest and set the house on fire." he continued with glee and readied his own wand, waiting.

Voldemort grinned in triumph as the Manor appeared before them in all its ancient glory, but his expression suddenly changed as curses started raining in their direction. He had wanted a surprise attack but it seemed the boy was ready for him and not only that, he had summoned a small army including Voldemort's own Death Eaters, Aurors and … was that Dumbledore?

Abandoning all other thoughts, the dark Lord leaped for the old Headmaster. He was going to crush all his enemies at once today.

…

Severus felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart the moment the wards fell. He took a calming breath and gripped his wand tighter. He was still shaky from the dark Lord's advances and the stress of the situation but he needed to focus.

'Don't put too much energy behind the spells.' he heard Sirius' voice in his head as he fought and tried to pace himself, choosing the curses that needed the least amount of energy and using counterspells instead of shields.

The air was filled with dust and sparkles of magic. He could hear his heart beating in his chest over the cries and explosions. His cousins were fighting by his side, protecting him and his unborn child but no one was protecting his husband. He had thought to ask someone to look out for him, to stop Bellatrix from casting that spell but couldn't bring himself to do it. His family were protecting him because he was their Lord and because he was pregnant. They probably would have accepted to protect Sirius as well if he had asked them, but how could he ask such a thing? They were fighting in a battle, they were all at danger and he couldn't expect anyone to put their life in the line for Sirius just because he was the most important person in the world to him.

He kept himself from glancing over at the other side of the battlefield, where he knew his husband was standing and instead focused on protecting his daughter. He couldn't afford to be distracted. It was what Sirius wanted. He had promised he wouldn't endanger their baby again and he wasn't going to break his promise.

Something exploded behind them. Severus startled even though he had been expecting it and braced himself as Daniel slammed into him and pushed them both out of the way. He watched her raise to her feet and start to duel the Death Eater approaching them and stood up as slowly as he could, but he lost his balance anyways and fell down the low hill.

He winced in pain as he landed hard on the ground and put a hand on his stomach in panic. Had he hit the ground harder this time? Could he have hurt his daughter? Maybe if he'd … he sighed in relief when he felt Adelaide move inside.

Wasting no time, Severus raised to his feet and threw a curse that cracked the ground underneath the dark figures in front of him. Pushing his dread away, he created a dense fog and slashed his wand through the air as he casted sectumsempra. He felt as if his brain was shut down and his magic was taking charge.

Not waiting to see how much damage he had inflected with the cutting spell, Severus turned to his animagus form and started to run. He closed his eyes as he felt his child moving in distress and ran faster. His legs pulled him to the other side of the battlefield while his mind pleaded with him to turn the other way. And then he saw it, Bellatrix raised her wand and a red light emerged from the tip.

Severus cried out in rage and sorrow, the sound ripping from his throat, vibrating every muscle in his neck. Bellatrix turned to him in shock and her spell changed directions, hitting Sirius in face instead of chest. He started at the woman for only a second. Every instinct was screaming at him to attack her, to sink his sharp teeth in her neck but then Adelaide moved and it felt as if he had woken up from a slumber.

'Run! Get to safety!' Sirius' words echoed through his head and he was running again. A cursed hit one of his legs, breaking his bone but he kept running, barely feeling the pain. Once he was deep in the forest, he turned back to his human form and collapsed. He reached for the protkey in his pocket and whispered the password. The awful sensation of the magical travel lasted for a few minutes and finally he reached safety. 'It's what Sirius wanted.' he thought before he drifted to unconsciousness.


	107. Chapter 107

Chapter 107: After the Storm

Summary: Lord Voldemort dies and the war ends.

Notes: Hello guys! Thank you for following the story this far. I hope you like the ending.

In the first part of this chapter I used parts of Dumbledore and Voldemort's duel in the ministry of magic in the order of phoenix.

...

Albus Dumbledore stood his ground as Voldemort flew in the air and landed in front of him. The crowd parted around them as they sized each other up, the fighters of dark and light alike, but Septimius remained close by.

Voldemort fired the first curse, which Albus easily dodged and then sent a powerful spell in return. The Dark Lord conjured a silver shield and blocked the curse. Tom had gotten even more powerful it seemed. They dueled for a while, none of them gaining the upper hand and Albus grew frustrated. He needed to distract Voldemort so that Septimius could put an end to him and with that end this battle before the number of casualties became too grave.

He needed to strike harder, he decided and casted a fiery rope around Voldemort, which Voldemort transfigured into a snake and sent after him, he then casted a killing curse. The snake and the curse nearly struck him simultaneously, but his familiar Fawkes dived into their path. He burst into flames and was immediately reborn as a tiny, featherless phoenix.

In that moment they heard an animalistic shriek, the sound of an enraged creature, powerful and threatening yet so mournful and heart breaking it sent chills down his spine. The sound distracted even Voldemort who turned slightly to the source. And that was enough for Septimius. The man ran forward, throwing a black object at Voldemort and then Voldemort was the one screaming. Albus watched in stunnishment as something was sucked out of the dark wizard, vaguely aware of the killing curse that the crumbling man casted in Septimius' direction. Soon, the Dark Lord dropped to the ground, his red eyes wide with terror and empty of life.

Albus tore his eyes from the scene and started firing spells at the Death Eaters. He could feel the wards slipping back into place and he could tell the moment they were whole, it was then that they were all shielded from the intruders' curses and spells.

"We must capture them!" he announced and started conjuring robes and binding the Death Eaters and saw the others follow suit.

…

Severus woke up to someone whispering soothingly to him and playing with his hair. "Mom?" he murmured groggily.

"Yes, sweetheart, mother is here." came the response.

"Is he awake?" asked a male voice this time. "How are you feeling?"

"I …" started Severus. He suddenly tensed and put a hand on his stomach, frowning.

"The baby is doing fine." reassured his mother.

Severus didn't calm down until he felt the gentle kick against his hand.

"You'll need to rest for a while but she's going to be alright." said the man as he stepped closer and casted a few diagnosis spells on him. It was Andrew, he realized.

"What about Sirius? What happened to Sirius?"

"He was … injured but he's going to recover."

"I have to go see him." said Severus and made to sit up but Andrew's strong arms stopped him.

"You're on bed rest until I tell you otherwise."

"But …"

"No buts Severus. If you want to keep this baby you'll need to rest." said Andrew sternly.

Severus stopped struggling and leaned back in defeat. "If I could just see him …" he trailed off, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"Sirius is all the way back in England. He's in St. Mungo's, they're tending to him." said Andrew with a sigh.

Severus looked around. He was not in Prince Manor, the walls were covered with wood instead of stones and the furniture in the room was much simpler.

"We're in France, at your great uncle's house." supplied Eileen.

"You portkeyed here. Do you remember that?" asked Andrew.

Severus nodded slowly. He had portkeyed right from the battlefield. "Did we win? Is everyone alright?" he whispered.

There was a few minutes of silence but Eileen spoke up. "We did win. Your cousins are fine but your grandfather and your aunt Noreen didn't make it." she said quietly.

"And Lucius." added Andrew. He sighed again. "Your left arm is broken. Remus saw you running on it in your animagus form. Let's just say it didn't help and it can't be healed with a spell. I can't give you Skelegro either because of your pregnancy, only basic healing potions."

Severus was now aware of the pain in his arm, but he had too much on his mind to care, he thought of how crushed his cousins were at loosing Septimius and Noreen and how Draco was going to grow up without a father and how his husband was so far away. "Do you think Sirius can come visit me?" he asked.

"Perhaps not right away but I'm sure he'll come when he's better." answered Andrew. Severus didn't like the sad tone in his voice at all.

"Of course he will! And you two are going to have so much fun here." said Eileen cheerfully. "Everyone's so happy that you finally came. You'll get to see all of our relatives and go shopping for your girl like you wanted. We have so much to look forward to! We're going to have two weddings, first for Andrew and Kayla and then Remus and Lisa, they're family too." she added, smiling.

Severus couldn't help but smile back at her.

…

Sirius looked out the window along the street, watching the children play. He hadn't been in his room at number twelve Grimmauld place in years and it seemed as if nothing had changed. But he had changed a great deal since then and after getting hit with that curse looked quite different as well.

Everyone at the hospital kept telling him how lucky he was that Bellatrix had missed, that he hadn't lost an eye to the dark curse but he didn't feel lucky at all with the ugly scar that covered half his face. It started from his temple and went down over his cheek, all the way to his neck. He had wanted to be alone, he didn't want anyone to see him like this, he didn't want Severus to see him.

His parents and Regulus had been with him the whole time and had taken him home with them when he had refused to go back to Prince Manor. The Princes were not happy about this and had tried to persuade him to go back with them, but he just couldn't.

Sirius stood from his perch on the bed when he heard voices from the living room and slowly climbed down the stairs.

"It's been a week! Enough is enough." he heard someone say and immediately recognized the voice. It was Alexander, Severus' eldest cousin.

"He was hurt. He needs to rest." hissed Regulus in answer.

"Severus needs him."

"Severus has all of you taking care of him. He'll go see him when he's ready."

"It has to be now!" snapped Alexander.

"I'm not going." said Sirius, and everyone turned to look at him. He shifted self-consciously to hide his face.

"He thinks you're dead."

"What?!" exclaimed Sirius. "You didn't tell him I was alive?"

"Of course we've told him. He believed us at first but when you didn't show up … He'd come looking for you himself if he wasn't on bed rest."

"Why is he on bed rest?" he asked. It was the first time he was hearing this.

"Why do you think? The battle and the animagus transfiguration put too much pressure on the baby and Severus isn't getting any better with all this stress. He needs to see you, afterwards you can come back and stay here for as long as you want." said Alexander in exasperation.

"Don't listen to him, son. You don't have to go if you're not ready." said Walburga, looking down her nose at Alexander.

Sirius closed his eyes, at war with himself but finally his protectiveness won over his insecurities. "Alright. Let's go." he told him at last.

Alexander nodded, looking relived and pulled a portkey out of his pocket. They both grabbed the book marker and the next second they were gone.

Alexander accompanied him to the door to Severus' room and patted his shoulder before leaving him there. Sirius took several steadying breaths until he could work up the courage to open the door.

Severus was lying on bed with a thick book on his lap. "Still not hungry." he said in irritation without looking up.

Sirius didn't say anything, he just stood there as if glued to the spot. Severus looked up eventually and gasped. "S … Sirius. Is that really you?" he whispered as if afraid to talk louder.

Sirius' heart broke at his disbelieving tone and he stepped closer. He flinched when he saw Severus notice the scar.

"Does it hurt?" asked Severus gently.

Sirius shook his head and looked away.

"I saw you fighting. You were so brave, I'm proud of you." said Severus.

"I can't stay." he murmured, still not looking at him.

"Don't you want to say hello to Adelaide? She's moving like crazy."

A lump formed in Sirius' throat at the mention of his daughter and he slowly stepped closer. Severus took his hand and squeezed it before putting it on his stomach.

"I look hideous." he said before he could stop himself.

"You look as handsome as you ever did."

"What if … what if she's scared of me? Because of the scar?" he asked, looking his husband in the eyes for the first time.

Severus held his gaze. "How can she be scared of you? You're going to be an amazing father and she's going to love you, I promise. You'll be her favorite guy in the world." he answered earnestly.

Sirius couldn't bare looking at those intense black eyes anymore. He looked down and frown as he saw Severus' other arm. "Why is your arm in a cast?" he asked.

Severus sighed. "It's broken. I can't take Skelegro because of Adelaide, so it has to heal the old fashion way." he explained. "They can't give me a strong pain killer either." he added with a grimace.

Sirius felt a pang at his heart. He should have come sooner. "How have you been?" he asked

"Miserable. You how I get when I have to stay in bed."

"Alexander said you thought I was dead."

"I saw you die in that vision." admitted Severus. "When I close my eyes I can still see it."

"But you said …" Sirius made to protest.

"I lied." Severus said simply. "You have no idea how happy I am too see you. I was scared all this time I was going to lose you. Please don't leave me again."

"Never." he swore, meaning it.

"Can you hold me?" asked Severus pleadingly.

Sirius nodded and slipped under the covers beside his husband, pulling him close. He had been an idiot, staying away. Severus and Adelaide were alive, that was all that mattered.

…

Severus held Adelaide as she petted the ponies and ran his fingers over the girl's black locks, smiling to himself. She was one of the most precious creature on earth, he thought to himself and froze for a moment. He had seen this in his vision six years ago. That vision had been the reason he had decided to keep Adelaide. Seeing her lovely face and hearing her beautiful voice and how happy she was. His pregnancy had been hard, the hardest time of his life but he wouldn't take any of it back.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when something slammed into his legs. Severus looked down to see his three year old son grinning at him, his blue eyes were shining with glee and he had wrapped his tiny arms around Severus' leg.

"Adam! Where did you come from?" he asked, smiling down at the boy.

"With daddy." answered Adam pointing to Sirius, who was walking up to them with a picnic basket in hand.

Severus put Adelaide down and took each of the children's hands in his own. "Let's go before daddy eats all the pie." he told them as he walked them over to where Sirius was setting up the blanket.

Adelaide giggled. "He wouldn't." she said.

"I like pie." Adam informed them.

"Me, too." said Sirius, picking Adam up and settling his on his hip. "You want to help cut up the pie, imp?" he asked.

Severus stood there and watched Sirius as he gave each of the kids a piece, talking and laughing with them.

"Sev?" asked Sirius as he looked up and noticed Severus staring.

"I was just thinking. I have no idea how I got to be so happy."

Sirius tugged at his hand and pulled him down, kissing him lightly. "Wait till you taste this pie." he said.

...

Notes: Well, that's all folks!

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I want to thank you for all of your support and reviews.


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